Winds of Change
by shadowglove
Summary: Jor-EL changed the past, changed the future, but what he couldn't change were Chloe Sullivan and Lex Luthor, two stubborn and strong-willed peronsalities. Neither could he mute the feeling calling them back to Smallville... chlex and chlark
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville/Superman.**

_This is my attempt a way Chlois could come about._

* * *

He'd left.

Clark Kent, her best friend and the man she'd always loved, had left to start his training three years ago.

Chloe had tried, she really had, she'd tried to keep a smile on her face and that of Martha, she'd tried to bring Lex Luthor down, but without Clark by her side she really hadn't found any inspiration. Clark was always with her, always her backup, and although Ollie and her had grown closer, Ollie was no Clark.

Chloe had really tried…but she couldn't, which was why she found herself in the caves. She knew she couldn't go to the fortress, even with the key—she'd tried—but it made her feel closer to the only man that she'd ever truly loved, and as pathetic as it was, she felt his presence.

"I can't take much more, Clark." She whispered, face stained with the tears that wouldn't stop running down her cheeks as she rested her forehead against the cave wall. "I'm not asking you to stop your training--that is more important than anything I could ever do--but I miss you so much."

She sighed and moved her palm over the rough rocks that made up the cave wall, moved it over the drawing of Segeet and Numan. "Lex is getting stronger every day and I'm losing hope. He doesn't fear us now that you're gone, and I'm frightened that he's going to win--that he already has."

A short of snort escaped her as she let her palm rest against the drawing of Segeet. "I think he's intrigued as to why I'm not hounding him anymore—why I've stopped fighting him." She paused. "He owns the Daily Planet now, and you know what the most ironic thing is? Instead of firing me he's put me as a full-time reporter, has me doing all of the important articles--of course he reads everything I write carefully before having them printed—but they're being printed nonetheless."

Turning, she leaned her back against the wall, looking up at the cave ceiling yet not really managing to see it due to the darkness. "I think he likes to torture me, enjoys getting under my skin, I think it's his way of getting back at you."

She closed her eyes, tired and lifeless. "Everyone hates me at the Planet. One minute I was a no-body reporter-in-training and then I'm a big hotshot who the new boss never _fails_ to keep back late every evening for some conference with him?" She scoffs softly. "They're all sure I've earned my new position with my back against his desk and my legs in the air."

The air rustled around her restlessly.

"And he's only aiding that little rumor by always making me attend the banquets and parties with him, says that I'm his star reporter and that it would only make sense for him to flaunt me around." She sneered. "I'm not a prize _pony_." Her eyes flew open in sudden indignation as she remembered something _else_. "Can you imagine that he had the _nerve_ this morning to tell me that I should consider becoming a brunette?!" She stomped her foot in agitation. "What is he? My _stylist_?"

Of course there was no answer, and yet deep down inside Chloe felt as if Clark was listening to her.

"I don't know what to do anymore." She admitted in a small voice. "I'm still studying; maybe I should change my major. I'm so young, too young to be the _star reporter_, and everyone hates me and to be truthful, I'm starting to hate what I'm becoming."

The wind caressed her skin, like invisible fingers softly wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I hurt Ollie yesterday." She hated _that_ as well. Ever since Clark had gone, Ollie had become her rock, and yet she'd had to let go of him as well. "He asked me to go on a date with him—told me he was developing strong feelings for me—and I told him that we shouldn't see each other any more."

She hit her head back against the cave wall in frustration, closing her eyes so tightly it actually hurt. "It's for his best—all of theirs—if I cut all connection with the JL. Lex has me on a short leash--and he's been having me followed. I can't risk their identities by holding onto them and remaining their friends."

A lone tear made its way down her cheek. "Ollie came to see me the other day—before asking me out—and when I got back to the Planet after our lunch Lex was furious. He threw me into his office and started shouting at me and interrogating me about what I was doing with Oliver Queen."

Her hands shook. "Afterwards every single person in the Planet was sniggering about our '_lovers spat_'. One girl, Cat Grant—she works the gossip column—made some rude remark to my face about me not being able to keep my hands off of billionaires."

She paused, a frog in her throat. "It wasn't so bad when Lo was around, but after she—was—after she was murdered while working on that story and my tears didn't work on her again, well, I've been _so _alone."

There was a mournful sound on the wind that caused her to slide down to the ground in near-defeat. "I--Clark--there's something I haven't told you." She trembled, head bent, tears falling freely. "My mutation—it's finally matured."

All was silent.

"I realized something was weird when I tried healing Lois and she wouldn't wake up--and when I tried healing my cat after she got into a bad cat with the cat next door. I don't heal others anymore--or if I can I've lost the control over it again." She hiccupped, her sobs causing her voice to break. "I thought I'd somehow become healed, whole, _normal_, again--but I'm _not_."

Once again the wind caressed her, and Chloe forced herself to believe, if only for a second, that Clark was reaching out to her in the only way he could.

"I've been so lonely, Clark." She hugged herself tightly since there was no one around to hug her any more. "Dad's dead, Lois is dead, Lucy's MIA, Uncle Sam was never a real part of my family…and mom…I've stopped visiting her. I can't even visit your mother because I know that Lex is unstable and might hurt her if he thinks we are in contact and know where you are." Her heart hurt. "I am alone and just wanted it to _end_."

She felt so ashamed telling him this, so ashamed to let him see how weak she'd become since he'd left.

"I slit my wrists—all me this time, no possession needed." She laughed softly, and yet all warmth and mirth was missing. "It hurt like hell--but both wounds closed up in seconds." She paused again. "I was desperate, furious, so I did all I could. I took pills—I breathed in gas—I stepped in front of a fucking _train_."

The wind howled furiously.

"I can't die, Clark." She hated it. She hated how much of a freak she truly was. "I can't die—can't even be injured for long—and I'm destined to live my crappy excuse for a life for eternity—and all alone."

She ignored the wind, ignored the fact that she probably was going insane listening to it as if it was speaking to her.

"I miss you—_God_—Clark, I miss you so much!" She cried out in a choked voice, in a near scream.

Her cellular began to ring.

She laughed again, and once again it wasn't a happy sound. "I don't need to look see who that is." She confessed in a sad voice. "Only one person would call me, and I don't want to talk to him. But if I don't pick up he'll try to locate me himself and I don't want him to realize where I am. Not here of all places--he might get suspicious."

_And I'll __**always**__ protect you…even if you're not here to protect anymore_.

Reaching into her pocket, Chloe kept her eyes closed as she pulled out her cellular and answered it. "What do you want, Luthor?"

"Where are you?" His voice was clipped, irritated.

"Out." She sighed, head pounding softly against the wall behind her. "What do you want?"

"For my star reporter to be at her desk, close to my office, as she should be."

"I'm on my lunch break, Luthor, even your _star reporter_ needs to refuel once in a while. I can't live off of coffee _forever_."

"I know, Chloe."

She winced, as she always did, when he called her by her first name. It just seemed so _wrong_ for him to call her that. Why had he stopped calling her 'Sullivan' all those months ago after buying the Daily Planet?

"I've been trying to get you to have a good lunch for months now." He was _chiding_ her.

Normally she would have given him some snippy answer, but lately she'd been too tired to fight, too tired to do anything but give in.

"I just thought it odd that you weren't by your desk."

And now he was checking up on her.

"Why don't you tell me why you're _really_ doing this, Luthor?" She sighed, giving up, as she'd been doing around him of late. "Is it another fluffy LuthorCorp-Saves-The-World piece? I'll write it up as soon as I get back."

"No, I don't have anything specific for you to write." There was a pause. "There's an echo, where exactly are you?"

"I told you, _out_."

"You sound tired."

Where was he going with this? "Look, I haven't been sleeping well. Nothing big. Now, if you don't mind, I'm still on my lunch break--."

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"That's _it_!" She cried, opening her eyes in anger. "Luthor, I'm having lunch! Give me a break! You have people trailing me day and night, I try to give them the slip now and then, but I know that most of the times I fail. You know that I don't know where Clark is, you know that I am not doing anything against you, and you know that I spend all of my nights at home in front of the television with a carton of Ben & Jerry's!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"You have nothing to fear from me anymore." She whispered, broken. "You've won. Now let me have my lunch in _peace_."

There was a hesitant pause. "Then, if I've won, you'll be dying your hair brown. No one will ever truly take you seriously if you're a blonde."

She closed her eyes, defeated. "Luthor, apparently you haven't realized that I'm really a brunette, and if it keeps you quiet, I'll stop dying my hair."

"Good." There was another pause. "I'll have my secretary set up an appointment at the best beauty salon for you for this evening to get them to dye your hair back as close to your natural color as possible, that way I don't have my star reporter looking like some washed out, unkempt girl who can't even dye her roots."

"Whatever you say." She gave into him, again. "So, unless you want to use up more of my short lunch break, goodbye." She hung up on him and turned off her cellular, throwing it away from her in anger.

"I hate him." She whispered, hugging herself again, desperate for some affection. "I hate him so much." She closed her eyes, gave into her despair, and wished that Clark was there.

She didn't even realize when she fell asleep.

* * *

Waking up, Chloe stretched, feeling disoriented. Everything was white, and for a second she was terrified that she was in an asylum.

"You are awake."

Chloe's eyes widened as she recognized that voice. "Jor-El?" But that would mean…_I'm in the Fortress!_ But why wasn't she freezing? Did Jor-EL have something to do with that?

"I have brought you here, human, because you mean much to my son, and it distresses him to hear you in such pain."

Chloe gulped. Clark—Clark _had_ heard her?

"He cannot train if his head is on you, so I had to take matters into my own hands." He paused, as if searching for the right words. "Kal-EL needs to train if he is to be prepared for his destiny, and you need to let him do so in peace. He can hear your heartbeat—he listens to your voice when he should be learning what I teach."

Chloe smiled softly.

Clark hadn't left her…

…not completely.

"And he suffers because you suffer." Jor-EL continued in an intrigued voice, as if this concept was a new one. "I know of your future, and if you continue in this path, you will become what you fear most."

The blonde gasped, knowing what he meant. If she continued this way she'd go insane.

"But I have come to offer both peace and safety for you." Jor-EL announced. "I will rewrite your history. Neither you nor Lex Luthor will ever have gone to Smallville. You will never have met my son, you will not remember this place, nor what has happened. You will have lived another life, and will be happy."

Chloe shook her head. "_No_…I…I wouldn't remember Clark, he wouldn't remember me, we--."

"You once told me, human, that you loved my son."

She nodded, eyes welling up with tears. "I _do_."

"Then do it for him." The voice was stern. "Think of him, and of his future. Think of him instead of yourself. Sacrifice yourself for him."

There was silence.

"I will." Chloe bent her head, giving into the tears as she cried softly. "If this is what's best for Clark—--I'd do _anything_ for your son. Even forget him--even though the thought of a life without him breaks my heart."

There was silence.

"You truly love him."

And that made her cry harder.

"He will remember you."

She looked up, gaze blurred by her tears, hope beginning to grow.

"And he will hate me for this," there was a hint of sadness in the AI's voice. "But it is what must be done." He spoke again, with determination. "Goodbye, human."

* * *

Chloe Sullivan gasped as she woke up, feeling disoriented and heady. Where was she? What had she been dreaming about? She couldn't remember, but for some reason she felt as if she was forgetting something important.

"Lois!" Jimmy Olsen stepped into her cubical, grinning broadly. "Congratulations on the last article, Perry has been grinning like a madman the whole day! What a scoop! And by our own Lois Lane! We're going to get an award for that article!"

The brunette grinned at her blonde, photographer friend. Jimmy was new at the Daily Planet, and while he was horribly shy around everyone else--especially her cousin--Chloe and him had hit it off as friends right away. "Well, let's just keep our fingers crossed."

"CEASAR'S GHOST!" Perry could be heard hollering from the door of his office. "Olsen! Where's my _coffee_?"

Jimmy winced. "Sorry chief! I'm going to get it right away!"

Perry White, Editor of the Daily Planet, glared at the young man. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me _chief_?"

But Jimmy was already bounding towards the elevator doors and hadn't heard him.

Rolling his eyes at the youth, giving him an affection smile he'd never give him to his face, Perry turned his attention to her. "Have I told you I loved you today, Lane?"

Chloe grinned brightly. "Only about a hundred times, boss."

"Well, I love you." He announced, the newspaper with her article on it in his hand. "Oh, and Lane? I saw that boyfriend of yours outside. He's probably come by to surprise you."

"Thanks for the heads up!" Chloe smiled as her boss ducked back into his office to gloat over her article. She quickly opened her bag and pulled out her mirror, looking at herself, arranging her long straight brown hair, and grinning, making sure that she looked perfect.

This _was_ the man she loved…

…The man who'd been gone for a while and she'd missed with all of her heart.

Putting away the mirror, she straightened the name-plate with _Lois Lane_ on it, remembering how he'd helped her pick it out when she'd told him that she wanted to write under a _nom de plum_. He'd cleverly pointed out, after some thought, that _Lois Lane_ could be spelt out of the name Chloe Sullivan, and she'd loved it—something about that name seemed so familiar.

Warm hands covered her face from behind. "Guess who."

She giggled. "I don't know, my secret lover?"

He chuckled affectionately in her ear. "Now, now, who's been a naughty girl while I've been away?"

"Oh, it's my _non-_secret lover." She laughed when he pulled his hands from her face and turned her seat around. In seconds she was out of her seat and against him, holding him tightly as he pressed a tender, adoring kiss to her temple. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." He whispered, holding her tighter, emotion thick in his voice. "It was hell being away from you, but you know my father."

"Well, it could have been worse." She whispered against his chest. "He mightn't have liked me and not allowed me to talk to you while you were in training."

He smirked against her hair. "Yes, well, dad loved you from the moment you stood up to him and told him you loved me. He told me that a plucky girl like you didn't come along too often." His smile softened. "He confided once that you remind him of my mother."

Chloe snuggled closer to him, glad that almost everyone else was out to lunch. "I know it was only a month, but I missed you so much."

"And I you."

The brunette pulled away slightly and looked up into his sincere blue eyes. "I'm serious, Lex, I've never spent a long period of time away from you. I mean, I grew up around the mansion since my dad worked for yours, and we've always felt like we knew each other. Remember?"

He grinned brightly. "We were sure we'd known each other in a past life." His grin turned mischievous. "And you disliked me in that past life, if your attitude at first had anything to say."

"I was five, I was _allowed_ to act like a brat." She smiled right back at him. "Do you remember the time your father wanted to send mine to work as manager of the Smallville Luthorcorp fertilizer plant?"

"I threatened with disgracing the family name the rest of his life if he did that." Lex Luthor laughed as he remembered those days. "I think that was when my father started realizing that I was in love with you…pigtails and all."

"Hey! I was _way_ past the pigtails days at that time!" Chloe slapped his chest affectionately. She then sobered. "So, have you passed the training? Does your father think you 'deserve' to be his official heir? Will he finally allow you some freedom and say in the management of Luthorcorp?"

Lex nodded, the smile reaching even his eyes. "He was a real bastard about it too. I think he liked having me under his thumb."

"You know he loves you deep down inside," she paused. "Deep _deep_ down inside."

He nodded. "Yeah. I guess." His gaze went to someone behind her and he pulled an arm from around her to wave. "Hey Perry."

"Luthor." Perry called back in a sheepish voice, obviously having been caught spying on them. "Have you heard about Lane's article on Wayne Industries? Something shady is going on down there and she's managed to somehow connect it with that rogue criminal, Batman!"

"Never called him a _criminal_." Chloe muttered under her breath.

Lex grinned at them both. "I think she deserves the rest of the day off, huh, Perry?"

"Please, take her before I steal her from you!" Perry laughed. "This will get us an award--just you wait and see!" The sound of his door closing announced his departure from the conversation.

Chloe looked up at her boyfriend of eight years--the only boyfriend she'd ever had--and grinned. "So, where are you taking me?"

"Wherever you want to go." Lex smiled, lowering his face till his lips were a breath away from hers. "I love you, Chloe."

God, she _loved_ it when he said her name. "And I love you, Lex." She whispered and closed her eyes as his lips descended on hers and she was lost in the pleasure and love she felt with him.

Outside, ignored and forgotten, the wind howled in agony.

* * *

_Don't throw any rotten fruit or vegetables, like I said, I wanted to try make it a believable hint to the Chlois Theory (as believable as any Superman-related thing can get) and to explain the Lois Lane/Lex Luthor relationship in the beginning of the Superman comics. _

_How about a review?_


	2. A Leafy Little Hamlet

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman…really…Lana would have really died in season 6 and Lois wouldn't have appeared if I WAS the one who owned Smallville.**

_Chloe and Lex visit Smallville for the 'first' time._

_This is a lighter, different Lex due to the fact that he had Chloe as a friend while growing up, and he always had her unconditional love (which he didn't have in the cannon arc) so he truly adores her and is fighting the darkness that is deep within him._

_CHLEX with hints of CHLARK._

* * *

_"Go away, Kal." Chloe growled, angered, irritated and hurt. She knew that Clark would act badly if he knew that she was attending Lana and Lex's engagement dinner, but she'd never have expected him to do the things he'd done--or say the hateful, hurtful things he had to her._

_"What if I don't want to?" He asked from where he laid on her bed, acting as comfortable as could be._

_"Don't you have Lana kidnapped somewhere?" She asked, trying not to sound bitter. "Go and entertain __**her**__."_

_"Are you jealous?" He asked, grinning smugly as if he already knew the answer. "Did you think that with Lana engaged you and I would finally get it on?"_

_Oh, if he was going to start with that crap again--!_

_"She's fine." He waved off her other question. "I left her in the loft, pressed a little nerve that sent her right to sleep before coming to see you."_

_"Listen to me Kal, Lana is pregnant, you shouldn't be doing any weird Kryptonian thing to her!" Chloe gasped, honestly horrified. "Are you __**trying**__ to make her miscarry?"_

_He made a face at her._

_"Get out of here." She ordered. "I'll pull the ears off of Clark whenever he gets smart enough to get rid of you, but I refuse to talk to you. Okay? So _leave_."_

_"Your loss." And with a gust of wind he was gone._

_Chloe closed her eyes and collapsed on the bed, telling herself that those hurtful, taunting words that'd escaped Kal's mouth at the dinner hadn't meant a thing to her. That Jimmy's words and insecurities were stupid._

_Tried to convince herself that it __**didn't**__ hurt her that even as Kal he preferred Lana to her._

_**What's so wrong with me? Why doesn't he love me**__?_

_Tears falling down her cheeks, Chloe curled up on the bed and cried_.

"Morning sunshine."

Eyes opening slightly, Chloe blinked away at the brightness in the room before yawning and smiling up at Lex Luthor. "Morning handsome." Smiling as he pressed a kiss against her lips before raising from their bed like a king, she enjoyed the view of a naked Lex as he made his way to the bathroom to perform his morning constitutional.

"I feel your eyes on my ass." He laughed as he entered the bathroom and disappeared from sight.

"You know, for a guy, you have a great ass." She teased, stretching languidly in the bed and trying to fully awaken from the dream she could no longer remember. It'd been happening to her a lot now, she'd have vivid dream that she knew she should remember when she awoke, and yet didn't.

"Pervert." Came the laugh from the bathroom.

"Didn't hear you complaining last night." Giggling at the moan coming from the bathroom, the blonde sat up in bed, pulling the sheet around her naked body as she gazed contentedly at their bedroom.

Despite the fact that they'd been going out exclusively for eight years, and that she'd been in love with him since she was in pigtails, it'd been a shock to her when he'd asked her to move in with him. She'd been hesitant at first, because this was a really big step, and if she was honest, it felt as if something deep inside was begging for her not to do this, but Chloe'd pushed that aside and accepted his offer.

And she was happy, deliriously so.

The only thing that bothered her were the restless nights in which she knew that she had dreams that were so vivid she'd wake up screaming or crying--and yet couldn't remember what they were about.

"So, is Lois Lane going to work today or is Chloe Sullivan taking up my offer to take her driving?" Lex appeared and leaned in the doorway, naked and glorious as the day he'd been born.

"Ooh, visual blackmail." The star reporter who worked at the Daily Planet under the _nom de plum_ Lois Lane smirked, getting up and walking passed him with a wiggle of her hips, knowing quite well that he was getting distracted by just watching her naked body. "Two can play that game."

Lex chuckled as he turned and watched her in their large bathroom, watched as she turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up, watched her as she pinned up her glorious, silky hair as to not get it wet. He smiled in adoration. "Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?"

"Yep." She smiled perkily despite the fact that she usually wasn't a morning person. The short, curvy woman turned to look at the large mirror and ignored the water running in their shower as she picked up a strand of her long, brown hair. "I was thinking, maybe I should go for a different look."

"Oh?" He asked, leaning his head against the doorframe, watching her.

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, looking at herself and sure enough she saw a flash of herself with short, spiky blonde hair before the reflection in the mirror returned to that of her normal self. That'd been happening for a while now and it intrigued her. Had she been blonde in a past life? "Maybe I should cut it--and maybe try being blonde?"

"No."

She turned to look at Lex, surprised at the conflicted look in his eyes. "Why not?"

"I don't know." Lex confessed, looking bothered. "But the thought of you as a blonde, I don't know, it just doesn't sit right with me. And anyway, no one would take you seriously if you were blonde."

"That is _not_ true." Chloe snorted, but gave her hair another long look and smiled, realizing she'd been silly to want to cut or color it. She had beautiful hair, everyone always admired it. Why would she want to change it all of a sudden?

Lex appeared behind her, embracing her and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I love your hair just as it is."

"You just say that because you like to pull on my hair when we're fu--."

"Someone woke up a pervert this morning." Lex chuckled deep within his throat as he pressed tiny, adoring kisses against the curve of her neck.

"Someone perverted someone else when they were a young, impressionable child." Chloe closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of Lex.

"Stop channeling my father." He laughed against her skin. "You kill the mood."

"Horndog." Chloe whispered affectionately, turning in his embrace and pressing a soft kiss against his lips before slipping away from him and into the shower, closing the sliding glass door behind her. "So," she reached for the liquid body gel. "Where are you taking Chloe Sullivan today?"

"Smallville."

The bottle slipped from her hands and crashed on the shower's floor. "What?"

"Smallville, it's the place dad would have sent Gabe and you when you were in eighth grade if I hadn't threatened him with disgracing the family name, remember?" Lex asked, turning on the sink and putting toothpaste on his toothbrush. "I've been curious about the place and I thought that you might like to see where you might have lived if I hadn't selfishly kept you."

"Kept me." She snorted with a roll of her eyes, bending down to reach for the bottle of liquid body wash. "I'm not a puppy."

His chuckle was distorted as he brushed his teeth.

"But you know what?" Chloe asked, pouring the wash onto her skin and beginning to rub it in. "I like your idea. Let's go visit _Smallville_."

* * *

"It's a leafy little hamlet." Chloe announced, decidedly unimpressed with the place and thanking all heaven that Lex had gotten her out of having to spend important teenaged years in such a boreville like this one. "Look, another farm. I wonder if they are all Amish or something."

"I might be the filthy rich one of us two, but you are _definitely_ the snob." Lex teased from where he sat behind the wheel of his silver Jaguar.

Sticking her tongue out at him, Chloe sighed as they drove into the town itself. "Hey, look, it's a coffee shop! Let's stop there."

"Coffee isn't good for your health." And yet Lex was already signaling the turn he would need to make to get a good parking space.

"I know, I know." Chloe nodded in agreement, and was out of the car the moment he'd parked.

The brunette took in a deep breath of what she was sure was the purest air she'd ever inhaled, and looked around the small town square, noticing that Lex and her were getting quite a bit of attention from the townspeople.

Then again, everyone was wearing casual clothes, driving in pickup trucks, and probably knew each other by sight, so Lex and her were probably a big change to their normal scene.

"So, what is it that has you so enthralled? Is it the flannel?" Lex whispered in her ear, surprising her because she hadn't felt him come to her side.

"And you say _I_ am the snob of the relationship." She slapped his chest playfully before grabbing his arm and leading him towards the building called _The Talon_.

The moment they entered the place Chloe felt as if she'd come home, and that feeling frightened her. Why did such a foreign place call to her soul like this?

Her eyes went unconsciously towards the back of the building and she saw a stairways to a room she'd somehow already known was there.

_What's going on_?

"Hello!" A bright voice announced, dragging Chloe from her thoughts. "My name is Lana Lang, you two must be new."

Chloe looked at the petite woman in front of her and was shocked at the momentary mixture of feelings. There was friendship, jealousy and envy, mixed with regret and longing.

She blinked, placing a hand to her head.

"Yes, we are." To anyone else Lex would sound cool and composed, by Chloe knew him better than anyone else, and she heard that tiny bit of confusion in his voice.

Was he getting the same odd feelings she was?

"I'm Lex and this is my girlfriend, Lois." Very few people knew her real identity, because only a few people really _needed_ to know. There was her father and mother, of course, and there was her cousin, Dinah Sullivan, another leggy brunette with 'an attitude the size of California', as Lex liked to describe her.

Dinah could understand Chloe's position anyway, since she worked for the Daily Planet as well and wrote a controversial (and very popular) politic column under the name _Dinah Lance_.

Sometimes it was dangerous beings a journalist, so having an alter ego was a way of keeping you and your loved ones safe, both Dinah and herself understood that. And Chloe herself had to be very careful because thanks to Lex's father, the Luthors weren't exactly the most beloved people in the world, so just being associated with Lex could be dangerous for her.

But he loved her, and protected her, and she loved him for that.

"It's great to meet you two." Lana smiled, looking at them both silently for a moment before shaking her head, smile growing larger. "Would you two like a coffee? Muffin? Or something else?"

"Coffee, black, for me." Lex was looking around the building, sounding as distracted as Chloe felt. "A mocha latte for my girlfriend."

"Coming right up!" Lana smiled that infectious, eternal smile of hers. "Why don't you two find a table and I'll be right up with your orders?"

But by then Chloe had already drifted away to the side, looking at the wall filled with pictures. This was obviously a family place and one beloved by the townspeople because the pictures of the people on the wall were pictures of a lot of people sitting in the seats having a coffee or a muffin at that very moment.

Chloe felt _connected_ somehow, and she couldn't tear her eyes from each picture. She saw several of them with a younger Lana wearing a cheerleader uniform and hugging a tall, blonde guy in a jersey that said _Crows_.

_Figures she'd be a cheerleader, she's really cheerful_.

There were other pictures as well, some of Lana being crowned prom Queen, of a handsome dark boy scoring a winning shot at a high school basketball game (the back of his jersey read _Ross_), and then there was a shot of another boy, one with black hair and bluish green eyes.

Chloe's throat went dry as her eyes were transfixed on the picture of the boy smiling at the camera, yet whose smile seemed forced, and whose eyes betrayed a sadness that she couldn't understand--or _could_--and didn't want to.

"He's my son, Clark Kent."

Turning to the sweet voice behind her, Chloe felt a jolt of recognition zinging throughout her body as her green eyes rested on the lovely redhead. What was it with her today? "Oh."

"He's not around anymore." The woman's smile was wide and sincere, though her eyes held hints of the same sadness that was visible in her son's. "He's off training, but he'll be back some day."

"Training?" Chloe couldn't help asking. "He's in the army?"

"Something like that." The woman smiled at her. "My name is Martha Kent, and that's my husband over there by the counter. His name is Jonathan."

Chloe peeked at the corner and saw a large blonde man, eating two brownies at once, much to her amusement. She smiled and turned to Martha, shaking her hand. "My name is Lois, Lois Lane."

Shock and confusion quickly passed through Martha's eyes. "_Lois Lane_?"

Chloe wondered why the woman looked so confused. "Yes, I'm Lois Lane."

"Lo?" Lex called, coming up towards her and eyeing Martha oddly. "You've made a friend already."

"Yes." She smiled at him, hugging him tightly, glad for the anchor he was for her. "Darling, this is Martha Kent, and that's her husband over there, Jonathan."

Martha's eyes were wider as she looked from Lex to Chloe and back, as if unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Mrs. Kent, this is my boyfriend, Lex." She left out Luthor on purpose, not many people reacted well to Luthors.

"Martha?" her husband called from where he sat, obviously just realizing that his wife had left him.

"Coming Jonathan." She turned to Chloe and Lex with a shaky smile. "It was nice meeting you two. Will—will you be in Smallville long?"

"We were planning on spending the weekend, my family have a home here." Lex spoke slowly, cautiously, and by now Chloe was _sure_ he was feeling the same way she was.

This was not a coincidence.

Something was drawing them to this place, to these people.

And Chloe Sullivan was going to figure out what it was.

She _had_ to!

Martha smiled genuinely at them. "You'll have to come and have dinner with us tomorrow night! I'm having a little get together." She quickly gave them directions to her farm and left before they could come up with an excuse not to go—not that they were planning on. Something about Martha Kent called to them, and they were going to figure out what it was.

* * *

"I just don't understand it, Jonathan." Martha whispered to her husband as they sent covert looks in Chloe's and Lex's direction as the young couple drank their coffee and smiled adoringly into each other's eyes. "Why is she calling herself _Lois_? When Jor-EL changed the past—did he get rid of the Lois we knew or is she out there calling herself Chloe?"

Unlike his wife and son, Jonathan Kent had no recollection of this supposed other life they'd lived before Jor-EL had changed events, so he really didn't feel the same concern that his wife did.

Actually, he was rather glad.

"You said the guy was an obsessive maniac before, honey." He announced, holding her hand, trying to pull her attention from the young couple's table. "But from the looks of it, staying in Metropolis made him have no interest in anything that could endanger Clark. He's no longer Segeet, if he ever truly was."

The blonde farmer looked at the couple, who were grinning at each other. "They look in love, and if your Chloe has managed to make him happy and oblivious to Clark or anything pertaining to Clark, then I say let's toast to their love and let them be."

"You don't get it Jonathan." Martha sighed, unable to tear her eyes off of them as Chloe—_Lois?_—leaned forwards and pressed a soft, tender kiss to Lex's lips. "Clark's _in love_ with her!"

"Clark was in love with Chloe Sullivan." Jonathan pointed out, thinking this was a clear point. "_Not_ Lois Lane."

"But she's the same person!"

"If Luthor isn't the same person, don't you think that there could be a chance that your Chloe isn't as well?"

Martha's heart dropped to her stomach. She'd grown up with Clark remembering their other life. Clark had never forgiven Jor-EL for his part in his separation from the woman he'd always loved, yet never had realized it until she'd been ripped from his life by his own father.

Clark's only hope was that as soon as his training was over he'd be able to find her…

But Martha didn't want her son to see Chloe so happy with his enemy.

_Lex is not Clark's enemy anymore_. She reasoned to herself. _He's a good man—Chloe has made him a good man. Anyone can see he only has eyes for Chloe and that anything else is unimportant for him._ A soft smile touched her face. _Chloe always swore she'd protect Clark--and she's doing so even now without realizing it_.

Martha's heart broke a little more.

_I'd just really wished she'd end up being my daughter-in-law_.

* * *

"Your training is nearly complete, my son."

Clark Kent nodded from where he stood in the training room of the Fortress, but he really wasn't listening to Jor-EL, he was listening to her heartbeat--something he'd been doing ever since Jor-EL had taken her from him.

He would never forgive the AI for what he'd done, never understand why he'd thought it necessary to rid Chloe, his Chloe, of all memories of him, to make it so that she'd never gone to Smallville, and to allow Clark to keep the duel memories of both being with her and being without her.

It'd been torture.

He hadn't realized the extent of how much he truly needed Chloe, how much he truly cared for her, until he was made to live memories of a life without her. It'd been a solitary, miserable existence. Without Chloe to push him, to brighten his days, he'd realized early on how Lana was really only a lovely face whose boyfriends all ended up either dying or going crazy.

And in the _other_ life, hadn't Clark himself lived up to that rule and died when he'd been stripped of his powers?

Of course, many good things had come from Jor-EL's actions—like his father being alive and well, and the Luthors never coming to live in Smallville—but Clark knew that without Chloe by his side all those victories weren't half as sweet.

_Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud_.

Her heartbeat was calming, and it was near.

_She must be close to the caves…she might be in Smallville_.

"How much longer must I stay here?" He knew that he sounded impatient, but he didn't care. He needed her, and he couldn't stand this frustration any more. He had to find her, he had to right every wrong Jor-EL had done them.

"Just a little longer, my son." Jor-EL promised, as if he knew what was in Clark's heart. "Just a little longer."

* * *

Oh well, I decided to expand a little with this story in a few chapters, still trying to solidify my Chlois premise…might make a REAL chlois story later after this short story is done, with them at the Daily Planet. Not sure yet. All I know is that for now this will be more chlex than chlark, but obviously if I did the REAL story later it would move from the chlex to the chlark and be cannon. Oh well.

Review?


	3. Castles and Memories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman.**

Chlex with hints of chlark. Oh, and Lex still has his hair (for now) because he's never gone to Smallville before, therefore he wasn't there in the meteor shower and so forth. Spoiler for _Kinetic_.

* * *

"Wow." Chloe whispered as she got out of the silver jaguar and looked at the large building in front of her. "When you said your family had a _castle_ in Smallville, I sorta thought you were exaggerating."

Lex sneered at the building that, for some reason, gave him a mixture of anger and frustration. Maybe coming to Smallville hadn't been such a good idea.

"I mean, I know your family is rich," Chloe continued, oblivious to his thoughts. "But this is a little in-your-face."

Running his fingers through his ancestral auburn hair, Lex felt conflicted. He'd felt somehow _connected_ to this hicktown, connected to the few people he'd met while at _The Talon_.

The moment his eyes had rested on Lana Lang he'd felt _irritated_ with a dash of _annoyed_, as if she'd done something personally against him. And the second he saw Martha Kent he'd felt sad, longing, thinking how something about her reminded him of his mother.

He turned to look at Chloe, who was still in her rant about his family 'house'.

"I mean," she turned to look at him, mouth made in the quirky smile that he found so endearing. "Bringing each brick from Scotland and rebuilding it _here_? That's just _too much_."

Lex winced as pain pierced his skull.

_A younger Chloe Sullivan laughed as she looked up at him from where they sat in the study, he by his desk and she by the fireplace._

_"You know," she quirked her lips, flipping back a strand of short blonde hair out of her face. "You Luthors not only believe yourselves the kings of the castle—but you had to get yourselves a castle just to prove it."_

_He smirked down at the young teenager, wondering why Clark was so torn between the admittedly pretty yet small-town-girlish Lana Lang, and the sharp witted, pretty and amusingly snarky Chloe Sullivan._

_If he'd been younger, and if Chloe had been a brunette, he would have relieved Clark immediately of the problem at hand. But he'd gotten himself in enough problems as it were, and he wasn't about to add 'seducing a minor' onto his list of crimes…_

Lex blinked back and sighed in relief when he realized that Chloe hadn't realized that he'd spaced out. She was already by the door of the castle and entering within, leaving him by the jaguar looking like an idiot.

But Lex was thankful, because he didn't know how much longer he was going to be able to hide these hallucinations from her. He didn't understand it, didn't get why he had vague nightmares of a life so different from the idyllic one he led right now, one where he was bald, Chloe was a blonde, her cousin Dinah went by the name Lois Lane, and Chloe was in love with some mysterious farm boy by the name of Clark--whom he'd never seen in any of his dreams but remembered having his name come up.

And worst of all? In some of the most recent nightmares and 'visions' Lex had realized that this other Chloe, the blonde one, had _hated_ him…

…and he had no idea _why_.

It'd bothered him greatly yet he'd managed to keep it cool until he'd heard her that same morning talking about cutting and dying her hair--blonde. He knew it was irrational and stupid, but he'd felt angered and scared that maybe, just maybe, if she ever became a blonde she'd hate him…

…and meet this mysterious _Clark_.

_I'm never going to let that happen_. A muscle in Lex's cheek jumped as he strode towards the castle. _Chloe is mine, blonde or brunette, she's __**mine**__._

* * *

They'd only gotten to explore the fourth floor when a servant found them and announced that Lionel was on the phone for Lex. Chloe'd laughed at her boyfriend's groan as he rolled his eyes and kissed her before going with the servant to get the phone, but if she were to be truthful, she was glad that he had left.

Something about this mansion—castle—it bugged her, it seemed so _familiar_, as if she'd walked down this hall before.

_It's as if I've been in this study before_.

Chloe frowned, pulling a strand of dark hair from her face as suddenly she felt dizzy, and the scene in front of her changed.

_The night was beautiful and eerie as three young adults occupied the same study. A bald Lex Luthor's face appeared on a monitor hooked up to a video camera._

_Chloe Sullivan sat in the seat across from his, dressed in her best suit, smiling, hair short, spiky and blonde. But her attention wasn't on Lex, it was on the muscular boy behind them working with the camera, a boy with black hair, bluish green eyes and a sheepish smile._

_"Are you ready now, Clark?" She asked, smiling a tender, adoring smile at him like one would a cute little puppy that one just couldn't be annoyed with._

_"Yeah." Clark spoke, looking up at her from over the monitor, his smile turning even more sheepish. "I forgot to press the record button. Sorry."_

_Her smile grew more adoring, and yet she shook her head and turned her attention on Lex, who was eyeing Clark and her with mischievous amusement. "So, Mr. Luthor." She began, trying to be as professional as she could—he would be the first important person she'd ever interviewed since joining the Torch, her high school newspaper. "Are there anymore secret construction projects going on at LuthorCorp like Level 3?"_

_"Please, call me Lex." He smiled a charming smile._

_"Okay, Lex." She grinned back, not becoming sidetracked as she suspected he'd intended her to be. "Are you going to answer my question?"_

_"__**Chloe**__…" Clark's voice was the perfect mixture of annoyance and embarrassment._

_"What?" She turned to him, deciding that the puppy might need a little kick after all._

_"It's okay, Clark." Lex interrupted, seeming more amused by the minute. "Critics are our friends. They show us our faults."_

_"Benjamin Franklin." Chloe had to admit it, she was a little impressed._

_And so was Lex, if the quick look he gave her was anything to go by._

_A servant entered. "Excuse me, Mr. Luthor. Your father's on the phone."_

_Annoyance and irritation were now the only things visible on Lex's face as he stood. "I need to take this." He spared the servant a look. "I'll take the call in the conservatory." He then turned to Chloe and smirked. "I look forward to resuming our verbal judo."_

_So was she._

Dizzy, Chloe backed out of the room, confused and frightened by what she'd seen. What was happening?

She turned and quickly walked down the hall and then stopped, angered at herself. She was Chloe Sullivan, and she was also _Lois Lane_, intrepid, star reporter for the Daily Planet. She would _not_ be scared of something like this.

Taking in a deep breath, she slowly walked down the hall towards the study once more.

_She'd tried escaping Clark right after Lex left so she could snoop, but of course the farm boy had found her and was now dutifully escorting her back to the study while scolding her for her actions._

_"Chloe, you can't just go snooping around someone's house." He reprimanded softly._

_"Clark, it's a mansion. It's __**designed**__ for snooping." Seeing the look he gave her, she threw her hands up in the air in annoyed defeat. "Okay, fine. We're going back to the study anyway, so I don't see why you're getting so uptight." She pouted. "I just don't get why I have to sit down waiting for Lex to officially blow us off. At least __**my**__ way we get some dirt to write."_

_Clark rolled his eyes at her, obviously trying to stay annoyed yet seeming more amused than anything else as they entered the study once more. "I'll put away the camera."_

_"See! Even YOU realize he's going to blow us off." She exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him before sighing. "Well, what can we do, huh? I'll go get my bag._

_The next happenings were quick ones. Clark discovered that the study was being robbed, and while struggling with two of the assailants he'd told her to run._

_And she had._

_But she wasn't alone._

_Out in the hallway Chloe came to a stop as she was blocked by a third assailant, she turned around and tried running in the other direction, screaming, hoping that someone would come and help her—help Clark._

_She screamed Clark's name when the attacker grabbed her from behind, slamming her against the wall next to the large stain glass windows. She saw the flash of a glowing green tattoo on his arm right before she hit him on the face._

_"You little __**bitch**__!" He grabbed her arms so tightly it pained, before throwing her out of the window of the fourth floor._

_"Clark!" Chloe screamed as she somehow managed to grab onto the ledge right outside of the window._

_"Chloe!" She heard Clark crying out her name desperately from somewhere inside._

_**He's going to save me, he's going to save me**__. She's still convinced of this when her grip slipped and she felt herself freefalling, and when she met the grass below and darkness consumed her world, the last thing she heard was her name on his lips._

Chloe placed her hand on the now intact window and looked down at the grass below.

No one could have survived a fall like that.

Her visions made no sense at all.

So why did it frighten her to just stand there and look down below? Why was the sensation of falling and hitting the ground so real it seemed like a…like a…like a _memory_?

She screamed and jumped in fear when arms encircled her from behind.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Lex Luthor, _her_ Lex Luthor, her _auburn-haired_ Lex Luthor, stood there, worry in his eyes.

Hand on her heart, Chloe looked out of the window and back at her boyfriend, scolding herself for behaving that way. "You scared me."

He smiled at her, but it lacked his usual warmth. "Chloe, maybe we shouldn't stay here. If it bothers you this much--."

"No." She shook her head firmly. "No. This place is great. It's a castle. How many girls get to say that they spent the weekend in a castle?" She faked a smile and knew he could see right through it. "So, what did your father have to say?"

"The usual." Lex was tense, which meant that she wasn't the only one keeping things to herself. "So, I have cook preparing food for us. Do you want to continue our exploring or would you rather us just go to our room?"

She looked back at the window—she couldn't help herself—and then she looked back at Lex. "Let's go to our room."

* * *

Dinah Sullivan smiled as she finished typing up her latest article, sure that Senator Kelly was going to have a big surprise when he woke up the next morning and saw the paper. Then again, if his wife saw the paper before him, and found out all about the many mistresses and children he had on the side, well, he mightn't wake up at all.

Grinning, the brunette pressed the send button, emailing it to Perry White, the Editor-In-Chief of the Daily Planet and her boss. She winced, knowing that without Chloe there to proof-read her article it would probably be filled with grammatical and spelling errors, but her cousin had finally taken a day off and had phoned to say that she would be spending it (and the whole weekend apparently) with Lex in a place called _Smallville_.

Dinah made a face.

With a millionaire boyfriend who could take her anywhere in the world for a vacation, Chloe had just had to choose a little nowhere hick town in the middle of Kansas.

What was _wrong_ with her little cousin?

Sighing, missing Chloe dreadfully already, Dinah reread what she _knew_ was really a gossip column and not her more usual political-minded one, but considering that she was going to make _hell_ for Senator Kelly, she really didn't _care_ much.

It was _so_ going to be worth seeing that slimy little bastard try to wiggle his way out of this. She'd told him when they'd met that if he didn't keep his hands to himself while they were sitting next to each other at the banquet table that she'd make him pay, and since his hands had been all over her but cleverly hidden by the tablecloth, she'd just exacted her revenge.

She just wished Chloe was here to help her proof-read, Perry was going to complain all day now…and she winced at the thought of the red marks that would be covering the whole article once it returned to her desk for polishing.

Picking up her phone when it rang, Dinah sighed, bored now that she was finished working. "Dinah Lance."

"Di, hey, it's me, Lois."

Dinah sat straighter when she heard her cousin's voice. "Hey Lois," she was surprised at how easy it was for her and Chloe to become other people while at work. They even called each other by their alter egos without even thinking. "Why are you calling me? Shouldn't you and that sex-on-legs boyfriend of yours be getting it on right about now?"

Chloe laughed. "Yes, well, we _will_ be soon—not that it's any of your business—but I want to ask you a favor."

"A favor? Sure." She grinned. "Want to know if you should use ribbed condoms or--?"

"_Behave_." Chloe laughed again before sobering. "No, I want you to run a check on a place and a couple of people for me."

Dinah's eyebrows rose. "Girl, you're supposed to be taking the day off! Relaxing!"

"Just do this for me please?"

Hearing the pleading in her cousin's voice, Dinah decided to do as told. She reached for the notepad and pen she always kept near her and found a blank page. "Okay, let me have it."

"The place is Smallville, Kansas." Chloe announced slowly. "And the people I want you to check out are Lana Lang, Martha and Jonathan Kent, and, well, Clark Kent."

"I just finished my article on Senator Kelly so I have some time free before Perry comes back with all the corrections." Dinah quipped. "Should I call you as soon as I get the results or will you two be busy at the time?"

She could just _hear_ Chloe rolling her eyes. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"That should be fine." Dinah smiled. "Well, talk to you tomorrow. And Lois, have some fun, okay?"

"Sure, thanks Di." And with that, Chloe ended the phone call.

Dinah frowned at the names on the pad of paper, wondering why they sounded somehow _familiar_.

_Just one of those days I guess_.

Going onto Google, she started her search.

* * *

Long after they'd had dinner, made love, and Lex had fallen asleep, Chloe lay in the foreign bed, looking out of the window at the large moon. With her head against Lex's bare chest, she sighed, wondering why it felt so wrong for her to be in this bedroom. It didn't make any sense, she should be glad to be here, unlike the study, this room didn't seem familiar at all.

_Chloe…_

She jolted up in a sitting position, pulling the sheets around her naked body protectively. Was there someone in the bedroom with them? "Hello?"

_Chloe_…

She narrowed her eyes, looking around the dark room and yet finding no one. "Who's there?"

_Chloe…_

The curtains danced, and she breathed out a breath of relief, realizing that it'd just been the wind.

Getting up from the bed, careful not to wake up Lex, Chloe went to the open window and closed her eyes as the wind seemed to caress her skin like an adoring lover.

_Chloe…_

It whispered in her ear.

She trembled, unable to understand what was going on with her.

"Chloe?"

Her eyes flew open and she turned away from the window to see Lex sitting up in bed, voice husky with sleep.

"Are you okay, baby?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes and looking at the digital clock on the bedside table that red 2:00 in bright red letters. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"The wind woke me up." She hated that she'd woken him, now that he was officially his father's heir Lionel had been working Lex to death to try and prove that he wasn't worthy of that title, and Lex was always tired to the bone. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb you."

His smile was sleepy but genuine as he slipped out of the bed and came to her. "Silly rabbit." He whispered affectionately before pressing a kiss to her nose and reaching behind her, shutting the window and silencing the wind. "Come on, let's go back to bed."

She let him lead her back to the large, King sized bed, but not before sending one last look over her shoulder at the window.

* * *

Clark closed his eyes in frustration.

She'd heard him.

For the first time since Jor-EL had messed everything up, Chloe Sullivan had heard him, and she'd responded.

And then something, or someone, had broken the connection and she was gone.

Jealousy and anger filled him at the thought that it'd been a _someone_ because it meant that he'd have to finally admit to himself that Chloe Sullivan was with someone else. And if the feelings he channeled from her when his powers were strongest were anything to go by--she cared deeply for this mysterious other person--maybe even loved him.

Clark needed to get out of here. He needed to find Chloe, and he needed to make her fall in love with him again before it was too late.

He'd lost her once, and he would be damned if he lost her again.

_Thud…thud…thud_…

Her heart calmed as she drifted off into sleep, and listening to the soothing rhythm, so did Clark.

* * *

So…what do you think?


	4. Secrets Kept

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**Glad that people are enjoying and following this, since this is my first Chlois and it's a new adventure for me.**

**Spoilers? All of the early seasons are game.**

* * *

Chloe felt bad for going behind Lex's back, but for some reason she knew he wouldn't agree with what she was doing, so she waited until he'd gone to jog to call Dinah. The brunette looked out of the window in the direction that her boyfriend had disappeared in his sweats. If there was one thing about Lex it was that he kept to his routine, and since there wasn't a gym for him to work out in he'd gone out jogging.

The moment he'd left she'd reached for her cell-phone and called her cousin, knowing that Dinah would be up early going over her kick-boxing routine. Usually Dinah and her practiced together, Lex had gotten them a personal trainer when they'd been mugged two years back, and since then the cousins had become proficient in kick-boxing.

"Hey." Dinah answered on the sixth ring, panting and sounding out of breath. "Curiosity killing you, huh?"

"You know me." Chloe smiled, eyes on the path outside that Lex had taken a couple of minutes before. "So, did you come up with anything?"

"Well, Smallville is the Meteor Capital of the world, go figure." Dinah announced. "There's really nothing about it other than the few articles from the Smallville Ledger—you know, all the important things like whose bull knocked down whose outhouse and that sorta exciting news."

Chloe rolled her eyes and smiled fondly at her cousin.

"Oh, but I _did_ read some _Inquisitor_ worthy articles from the _Smallville Torch_, it's the high school's newspaper." While Dinah's words might be mocking, there was slight interest in her tone. "Apparently there's a theory that the meteors that fell twenty something years ago altered the people and caused them to become, and I am quoting the author here, 'meteor freaks'."

"Meteor Freaks?" Chloe asked, placing a hand on the window-frame to steady herself as that word rang in her head over and over again, in her own voice.

"Yeah, has a catchy ring to it, doesn't it?" Dinah sniggered. "Honestly, it's like tales from the darkside or something. There's stories about a coach who could make things catch fire, and a boy who turned into an insect and ate his mother, and there's even a story about a girl who sucked up other people's body-fat."

"Huh?" Chloe asked, scrunching up her nose. "Body-fat? Are you _kidding_ me?"

"No! Really! I'm totally serious." Dinah laughed. "I'll email you some of the best articles. The kid, C.K., isn't half bad, reminds me of your articles when you used to write for _our_ high school newspaper, the _Handler_."

Chloe smiled, remembering the misadventures Dinah and her had gotten into while hunting stories for the _Handler_. Lex had had to get them out of trouble too many times to count.

"Okay, and Lana Lang--other than being annoyingly _perfect_, seemed to have been a magnet for these Meteor Freak people." Dinah continued with a scoff. "She was a cheerleader, Prom Queen, and to top it all, she dated the star Quarterback before he was shipped to the navy."

"9/11?" Chloe asked, knowing it was a touchy subject. Dinah's parents had been on one of the planes that hit the world-trade center on that awful, fateful day, and even up till now she had nightmares of her parents' ghosts calling to her to avenge what'd happened to them.

"Yeah." Dinah replied neutrally, if the subject pained she didn't let it show. "I looked him up, and while it was a little hard to find, I got his records, and he's reported KIA."

"Oh."

"Well, Lana Lang and her aunt, Nell Potter, co-own _The Talon_, which used to be a one-screen theatre back in the day, but they converted it into a coffee shop."

"Been there."

"How's the coffee?"

"Good, actually."

"Hmmm." There was a pause. "Well, from what I can see, Lana Lang is engaged to some guy named Pete Ross now."

"Okay then." Chloe remembered the picture of the handsome African American in a baseball jersey. "What about the others?"

"Well, Jonathan Kent was born and bred in Smallville, and he owns a large acreage that was passed down from his grand-daddy's grand-daddy." Dinah announced in an extremely lame country accent. "Martha Kent is actually the daughter of a hotshot CEO or something or the other, she left the glam life for her hubby and they have a son, Clark Kent."

Chloe remembered the look in the eyes of the boy in the picture--the boy in her dreams.

"Apparently he's adopted, but other than the adoption certificate I really can't pull up anything else." Dinah sounded frustrated at that. "Other than that, Clark Kent looks like the All-American guy. Played football for a season before leaving it to become the editor of the _Torch_, and seems to be best friends with Ross, who worked on the _Torch_ as well as the sports section writer." She giggled. "He sounds so much like you it's amazing."

"What do you mean?"

"He wrote in and was the Editor of his high school newspaper, he wrote really good humanitarian pieces for the Smallville Ledger, and was studying journalism."

"_Was_?" Chloe continued to stare out of the window. "Does it say where Clark Kent is at the moment?"

"No, that's the weird thing." Dinah replied slowly. "He just…_disappears_ some years ago."

Chloe frowned, turning her back on the window. "His mother told me he was _training_."

"Like in the military?" Dinah asked.

"Something like that."

"Well, I'll double check that, there should be some record of his being enlisted."

Hearing talking outside, Chloe turned and saw Lex returning from his jog, talking to one of the men on the security team. "Di, I got to go, Lex just arrived."

"Okay, I'll look up for that record of enlistment and call you if I find anything." Dinah replied. "Have a good time, and, well, come back soon. I'm missing you like hell."

Chloe smiled tenderly. "I miss you too, Di. See you later, and thanks for the help." Hanging up, Chloe put the cellular back in her bag, and headed to the bathroom.

By the time Lex arrived, she was in the middle of her bath.

* * *

"They mightn't come." Jonathan tried to warn Martha as he leaned in the kitchen doorframe, watching his beautiful wife as she busied herself by the oven, wearing the apron Clark had bought her the last Mother's Day he'd spent with them, and humming a song Jonathan couldn't quite remember. It'd been a while since he'd seen Martha so happy and eager, and yet he didn't want her to get up her hopes in case Chloe—Lois—and Lex Luthor didn't show up that night.

"I know Chloe." Martha didn't even turn to look at him as she checked on her pies. "If she says that she's going to do something, she's going to do so."

Jonathan bit down on his tongue to keep from pointing out once more that this was Lois Lane, and not Chloe Sullivan, that his wife was dealing with. The blonde farmer sighed as he watched his wife flittering around the kitchen like a busy little bee, cooking all of 'Chloe's favorites and genuinely excited.

She hadn't been this way since Clark left to train in the Fortress, and despite his misgivings about the whole situation, Jonathan didn't have the heart to take this away from her. Chloe or Lois, this girl was an anchor for Martha, reminding her of better times, of another life with Clark, and it made her happy.

And Jonathan would do anything to keep Martha happy.

"It was so _odd_ to see Lex with hair." Martha commented as she went to the fridge to get out of the meringue she'd left chilling the night before. "I finally see the resemblance between him and Lionel. It was _uncanny_."

Jonathan remained silent. Although he'd never met this _Lionel_, and in this lifetime neither had Martha—he'd always felt just a little insecure at the tenderness in his wife's voice when she spoke about the mogul.

"And see Lex and Chloe so _in love_?" Martha sighed, looking at her bowl of meringue yet obviously not really _seeing_ it. "The way she looked at Lex was the way she used to look at _Clark_."

Jonathan frowned, realizing that Martha's good mood was rapidly vaporizing. "I'm sure Clark will be happy to see her happy, and to see that Lex has not become the maniac you reassure me he became in the _other _life." He paused. "You always _did_ tell me that what he'd always needed was _love_, and Jor-EL gave him just that."

Martha tried to smile, but it just wasn't convincing. "If there's someone who loved unconditionally, it was Chloe."

"And you."

She looked up at her husband and her smile was more genuine. "Have I told you how much I loved you today, Jonathan Kent?"

He grinned, liking where this conversation was going. "No, but don't worry, my many admirers have soothed my broken ego."

She placed the bowl of meringue on the counter and grabbed a towel, flicking it at him playfully. "You behave, old man."

"Old man?" He cried out, his smile deepening as he grabbed her from around her waist. "I'll have you know that I'm in my _prime_."

"Good." She grinned up into his face. "Then you can help me set the table when the time comes."

He winced, letting go of her and placing a hand on his back. "Then again, I _do_ feel like maybe I should be resting."

Martha threw her head back and laughed, flicking the towel at him again as he rushed out of the kitchen to try and avoid the chore he so hated. "Jonathan Kent, you are incorrigible!"

"Love you too honey!" He rapidly threw over his shoulder as he rushed out of the kitchen.

Shaking her head at her husband, Martha giggled softly to herself before taking in a deep breath and turning back to the work that needed to be done.

* * *

"So," Chloe smiled as she exited the bathroom, dressed in low-riding jeans and a short-sleeved shirt that showed an abundance of cleavage. "Where are you taking me today?"

Lex smiled up at her from where he sat by the desk by the window in his still sweaty slacks. "You look lovely."

"And you smell horrible." The brunette responded cheekily, bending to give him a quick kiss any way.

"You're the same cheeky little brat with pigtails." Lex bemoaned, grinning at her glare, before frowning. "Baby, I have to do some things for dad. I told him I'd have it ready as soon as possible and you know that I'm still in the trial period--."

Chloe pushed back the feeling of resentment. She understood the pressure Lionel was putting on Lex, and she understood more than anyone why Lex was pushing himself to not only match, but exceed the expectations of his father and everyone else. And while she supported him one hundred percent, she couldn't help but feel a little neglected.

_It won't be like this forever._ She told herself, and sadly enough, it hadn't been the first time she'd had to try and convince herself of this fact. _As soon as he'd stable and taken seriously, Lex will return to being the guy who you fell in love with._

"Oh, okay." She smiled at him, not wanting him to blow off his duty for her. Chloe knew her power over Lex, knew he'd do whatever to please her, and that if she asked him to he'd go out with her instead of working.

And she loved him for it--and would protect him from her power over him.

"I was thinking, maybe you should invite Dinah over."

Her eyes widened as she looked at him in surprise. He wanted her to invite _Dinah_? "It's a lot of work, huh?"

He smiled sadly. "I think dad's doing this on purpose. While we were in Metropolis he told me there was nothing for me to do, and the moment I take a little vacation he suddenly has a crisis that only I can deal with."

Chloe pushed back the desire to assassinate Lionel Luthor. "Bummer."

"I know." Genuine resentment filled his voice before he looked up at her and smiled. "But this long weekend shouldn't be ruined for the both of us, right? Invite Dinah over, explore this little 'hamlet' together and enjoy some female bonding."

His eyes searched hers, obviously hoping she'd agree with this arrangement. "I asked Barry about what might interest you, and he said that there was Crater Lake and some caves that were found some years back with weird cave drawings inside. I know you're a real mythology-geek, so I thought you'd enjoy going to the caves the most."

She _would_.

Chloe smiled genuinely at her boyfriend. "You know, you're too good for me. You're going to have a boring weekend and yet you're still making sure I have a good time."

He reached for her hand and pulled her down on his knee, one hand going to her hair and pulling a strand out of her face and behind her ear. "Baby, I know this is hard on you--believe me, I'd prefer a million times spending the weekend with you--but I have something to prove if I'm going to be taken seriously for my work and not because my father owns the whole place."

"And I love that about you." She reassured. "Any other guy would be glad to fly on someone else's wings, but not you. You want your own."

"And when I have those wings, I'll spend more time in the nest, I promise." Lex pleaded silently with her to understand.

And she did. "I know, I know, you'll be so clingy afterwards I'll have to kick you out." She joked, getting up from his lap. "But, darling? _Bathe_ before starting, will you? Even _Luthors_ stink when they sweat."

"Don't ever let my father hear that." Lex grinned as he got up and strode into the bathroom.

Chloe shook her head at him. "Remember, work or no work, we promised Mrs. Kent that we'd go to her house this evening for dinner."

"I forgot about that." Lex poked his head out from the bathroom. "You really want to go?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I said we'd be there."

He grinned. "And when Chloe Sullivan says she's going to do something, she's going to do it." His grin grew mischievous. "Unless you're talking about fulfilling a certain promise she gave me years ago and has yet to fulfill."

She blushed, remembering all too well what that promise had been. "How is it that you can remember _that_ and not your father's birthday?"

"Well, the huge difference between them is that I look _forwards_ to your promise." He grinned before disappearing into the bathroom.

"Perve." She chuckled to herself, going to her phone and dialing Dinah's number once more.

* * *

"I told the servants that when you get deep into your work you forget to eat or drink, so I gave them a little timetable when to bring you your coffee, food, and snacks."

Lex fell more in love with Chloe Sullivan every day. She was always taking care of him, something no one else had ever done, and he knew that he'd never love someone like he did her. "You know, I'm not two anymore. I can get my own food."

She grinned at him, leaning against his jaguar. "Yes, you _can_, but you _won't_, and you know that. Anyway, you're spoiled, used to me taking care of you."

Yes, he was. He depended on her so much it frightened him sometimes because he'd never trusted, never loved, never _needed_ someone like he did her. "You enjoy spoiling me."

"_Please_." And yet she was smiling that smile that blew him away. "I'm just being nice so the day you kick the bucket I get a nice little settlement in your will."

He threw his head back and laughed. He'd believe that of anyone else, but not of Chloe. Once during the early months of their relationship, he'd casually mentioned how he wanted to add her to his will, and she'd stopped talking to him for two months. It'd been the worst two months of his life, but it served to remove any doubts about why such a beautiful, lively and witty woman like her would be with him.

For some reason, she was with him because she loved him, and Lex had forevermore become _devoted_ to her. Of course, he'd made her his sole beneficiary in case the worst should happen--and yet had decided not to tell her. If he died he wanted to make sure that Chloe was taken care of, and he'd fight her on that front if he had to.

"So…" The brunette began to unlock the door. "I'm going to stop by the _Talon_ for a cup of coffee, get better directions to those caves, and go explore them. I want to take some pictures of those drawings."

"Maybe you should wait for Dinah to come." Lex frowned, not liking the idea of his girlfriend alone in such an isolated place. Who knew what sort of things happened in this town? What if there were some shady characters?

"Please, she's coming tomorrow _morning_, what am I supposed to do until then?" She raised an eyebrow, hands akimbo, obviously challenging him to play mother hen with her.

"Your mother and father made me promise to protect you." He reminded her. "From _yourself_, if need be."

"Honestly, you'd think I was still in eighth grade." Chloe rolled her eyes yet pressed a kiss to his lips before sliding into the driver's seat of his jag. Closing the door she rolled down the window. "Just, don't overdo yourself with the work, okay?"

Once again she was looking out for him.

Lex sighed. "And you be careful."

"Always." Blowing him a kiss, she raised the window and blasted the radio before waving, turning, and speeding out of the drive way.

"Should I follow her now, Mister Luthor?" Antonio, part of their security team, asked as he emerged from where he'd been standing unnoticed.

"Yes. Just make sure she doesn't realize that you're keeping an eye on her." Turning his back on the young man, Lex returned inside. He knew that Chloe would be pissed if she ever realized that he had people watching over her constantly, but she was the only person who mattered to him, and he wouldn't let something happen to her.

The young heir was silent as he made his way through the castle, and finally found himself in the study that bugged him so. He shook off the feeling and went to the desk, to the confidential documents his father had sent him.

Sitting on the comfortable seat, Lex frowned darkly, remembering the contents of the documentation in his hands. He didn't understand what his father was doing getting mixed up into something like this, and while most of him was horrified and disgusted, something within him, something he preferred to deny he possessed, was _intrigued_.

He was glad that Dinah would be coming over, that way she would keep Chloe outside and busy, and neither girl would ever realize the groundbreaking, career-making story they could make if they only got their hands on what his father had sent him.

Taking in a deep breath, Lex shuffled the pages to try and buy him some time, before sighing in resignation and beginning to read the file with the words _33.1_ written on the front of the folder.

* * *

No chlark in this, but there should be in the next chapter--but no meeting yet. Oh well, review?


	5. Never Underestimate A Woman In Boots

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**I wanted to write this chapter for Clark to see just how different Chloe is from how he remembers it, and that maybe she isn't in as much need of him as she used to--he needs to have some insecurities, right?**

**Here's some Chlark in this chapter for all of those Chlarkers reading this.**

* * *

"Hey stranger!" Lana Lang was apparently chirpy by nature.

"Hey." Chloe smiled warily at the pretty woman as she sat down on the chair opposite hers as she drank her coffee in the _Talon_.

"So, how are you liking Smallville so far?" Lana asked, smile genuine and open.

"It's _different_." Chloe really didn't want to diss anyone's hometown, she really didn't. "I'm a big city girl, so it takes a little getting used to."

"You from Grandville, Metropolis, or beyond?"

"Metropolis, born and bred." Chloe managed a smile as she thought of home.

"This place must seem like a little hick town to you then!" Lana laughed, looking around her coffee shop with tenderness. "I know it's nothing much compared to what you're probably used to, but we try our best."

"Well, actually, this is probably the best coffee I've ever had." And Chloe wasn't only saying it because she was trying to be nice. She really liked the coffee, every sip was like paradise.

Lana's grin widened. "Glad to hear that." She leaned forwards across the table. "Martha says that you and your boyfriend are coming to her house for dinner tonight."

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Well, I'm going with my fiancée, Pete Ross." Lana motioned to the small rock on her finger proudly. "He's the high school football and basketball coach."

"Is he the same Ross in the picture on the wall?" Chloe asked and smiled sheepishly at the surprised look on Lana's face. "I have a photographic memory, I usually see a face once and never forget it."

"Oh." The other woman nodded. "Well, Pete and I got together in our senior year of high school, we really didn't hang out in the same crowd so I hadn't noticed him until then. I was all cheerleading and sparkles until I fell off of a badly formed pyramid during the most important game of the season--and Pete and Clark were the life of the _Torch_ and closet sports aficionados."

In spite of herself, Chloe found herself leaning over the table as well, intrigued with the story. "So how did you two end up getting together?"

"The Torch, actually." Lana grinned a besotted smile that just proved how devoted she was to this Pete Ross. "I went into a depression without my pom poms--" she grinned sheepishly "and one day Pete just came up to me and asked me if I wanted to write a gossip slash entertainment section for the Torch. I had nothing else to do so I said I would. I wasn't really any good, but I had fun, and I got to know Pete and fell in love."

"That's actually quite a romantic story." And Chloe meant it.

"I like to think so." Lana laughed, hazel eyes twinkling, motioning for one of the waitresses to bring her a coffee. "So, how did you and your boyfriend meet?"

"I don't really remember." Chloe took a sip of coffee to give her time to decide how much she wanted to reveal. "My father actually worked for his since I was around five, and all I remember was attending these social functions and getting annoyed with the boss' son."

Lana made an _awww_ expression.

Chloe couldn't help but giggle. "Lex and I fought like cats and dogs until I turned seven and he defended me from this really horrible kid that was with his parents at one of the functions." She smiled tenderly at the memory. "From that moment on he was my knight in shinning armor, and we called a truce. Since we were always together thanks to our fathers, we grew up friends, and started dating when I was sixteen."

Lana blinked. "He's a bit older than you--how did your parents take it?"

Chloe smiled sheepishly. "Well, they were actually surprised that it took us that long to realize that we were in love. They love Lex, and just told him to take care of me and that they trusted him." She paused. "We've been together ever since."

"What about _his_ dad?" Lana lowered her voice in a conspirator's whisper. "I mean, I don't know how rich this guy is, but sometimes people don't like their children dating the children of the hired help."

She didn't say it meanly, so Chloe didn't take it that way.

"No, actually, his father likes me more than he does Lex."

"That's _harsh_."

"So is life." Chloe shrugged, finishing her coffee with a large gulp. "So, I was going to visit the Kawatche Caves, but I was given some vague directions."

"Oh, you're going to see the caves?" Lana smiled. "They're nice. My friend discovered them, actually. His name is Clark—he's Mr. and Mrs. Kent's son."

Chloe froze, the coincidences were beginning to be chilling.

Lana didn't seem to notice though, and gave her clearer directions to the caves and then wished her a good day before getting up to tend to some elderly patrons who'd arrived.

Chloe, giving the girl a backwards glance, left the Talon.

* * *

"_My son, you have trained faithfully, and have proven yourself to be a true son of Krypton_." The AI's voice echoed off of the walls of the Fortress as Clark Kent stood in the training room, looking at the holographic image of his father. "_And I know that you have had to sacrifice much, and that you do not understand why I have had to do the things that I did, but believe me when I say that it was for your own good_."

Clark was silent, having heard this from Jor-EL before, and yet just like all of the times before, he couldn't believe that taking Chloe completely from his life could have been in his best interest.

"_And to reward you for completing your training, I shall grant you your greatest desire_."

Clark looked up suddenly.

What?

He was finished with his training?

A small smile touched his face for the first time since Jor-EL had messed up his life.

And what reward? Would the AI give Chloe back her memory?

"_I'm letting you see her."_

Clark frowned, wondering what the AI was talking about, when suddenly Jor-EL's image disappeared, and in it's place it showed the inside of the caves…

And one short, curvy woman.

Clark gasped.

_Chloe_.

_**Chloe Sullivan walked deeper within the Kawatche Caves, smiling that same, entranced smile she had the first time she'd gone there, and yet she was completely different from how Clark remembered her. Her hair was long, wavy and brown, pulling back in a high pony-tail with wisps of hair falling into her face, contrasting with her green eyes.**_

_**Wearing tight, low-riding jeans, a shirt that showed more cleavage than Chloe usually showed--and she usually showed quite a bit, and a jeans jacket--she looked stunning.**_

_**"So, hmmm. This is the Kawatche Caves." She whispered to herself, tapping her cellular against her bottom lip, her other hand wrapped firmly around a flashlight. "I'm definitely going to have to come back with Dinah and a camera. I'm sure they have to have quite a story to go with these drawings."**_

_**Pushing her cellular into the back pocket of her jeans, Chloe went to the wall with the drawing of Numan and Segeet. "Aren't **_**you**_** an ugly motha?"**_

Clark blinked, surprised to hear that word on Chloe's lips. It was just so unlike her to say things like that.

_**"So, from what I'm getting with these drawings, I'm guessing this creature is either a monster or a god—probably both."**_

Clark winced at the description. He was surprised when he heard classical music playing in the cave, and blinked when he saw her reach for her cellular and place it to her ear.

_Chloe_ had _classical music_ as her _ringtone_? But--but she _hated_ classical music! She thought it was boring and should have died along with its composers!

_**"Hey baby." Chloe smiled tenderly, cradling her cellular as if somehow able to touch whomever she was talking to. "How's the work going?"**_

Clark tried, but even with his super-hearing this was only a hologram, and he couldn't hear who was talking to her.

_**"Poor thing." Chloe said in a baby-voice, turning her back on the drawing of Numan and Segeet and playing with the beam of her flashlight. "At least you took some time out to have your snack, and walk around…and call me."**_

_**She rolled her eyes at whatever the man she was talking to said. "I'm fine you big worry wart, you know that I can take care of myself." She looked up at the darkness of the ceiling of the cave. "No, I understand baby, I do. I know you'd prefer to be here with me." She smiled sadly. "I know. I love you too."**_

And those words ripped through Clark, paining him unlike any sort of Kryptonite could. He clenched his fists to keep his anger in check, hating his father more and more for his role in all of this.

_**Noise towards the entrance of the caves caused Chloe to look up and narrow her eyes as the sounds of booted footsteps drawing close echoed throughout the chamber she was in. "Baby? I'll call you back, okay?"**_

_**Snapping the lid of her phone shut, Chloe placed the cellular in her back pocket again, body tensing slightly as she tried maintaining a semblance of casualty as two large, beefy men entered the chamber she was in, sneering at her.**_

_**"Gentlemen." She dipped her chin slightly in a greeting, voice even yet eyes narrowed in distrust.**_

_**"A woman as pretty as you shouldn't be wandering deep into the dark alone." The tallest of the men sneered at her as his friend blocked the only exit to that chamber.**_

_**"Especially when she's screwing the kind of guy she is." The second leered dangerous. "A man whose family has ruined a lot of people in this town."**_

Clark felt fear and anger welling inside of him as he took a step towards the hologram, desperate to protect Chloe yet knowing that unless Jor-EL allowed him to leave he wouldn't be able to go and save her.

He'd never felt so desperate--so _useless_--as he did now.

_Chloe…run!_

_**"My boyfriend shouldn't be blamed for what his father has done." Chloe's voice was cold, her eyes ice, looking incredibly unafraid considering the circumstances.**_

_**"Yes, well, in every war there has to be casualties." **_

_**"Yes, well, I've read the Art of War more times than any normal human being should, so you don't have to be telling me that." Chloe said stonily, looking as if she was in a debate and not cornered with two huge men who had told her in so many words that they were going to hurt her. "Look—you can just back out of this now and no one gets hurt."**_

_**They blinked in surprise before sharing a look and laughing out loud.**_

_**She glared at them. "Don't say I didn't warn you."**_

_**The first made lurched towards her and she easily avoided him.**_

_**Dodging his next attempt to catch her, Chloe bent down, grabbed a rock and hurled it at the one by the exit before turning and grabbing the hand the first had finally managed to place on her shoulder.**_

_**Grabbing the hand firmly by his wrist she twirled around and twisted the arm painfully, before bringing down her elbow violently against the awkwardly bent arm, the sound of bones cracking and a man screaming in agony filling the cave chamber.**_

_**As the first man fell to his knees, clutching his broken arm, she turned and kicked him full in the face with her booted leg.**_

_**"You **__**bitch**__**!" The second, face bloody from the rock, charged her.**_

_**Twirling out of the way, Chloe tightened her hold on her flashlight and brought it down hard on the back of his head as he rushed passed her. The sound of cracking could be heard, and no one could be sure whether it was the flashlight or the back of his head.**_

_**The man on the floor grabbed at her leg with his good arm, causing her to lose balance and concentration as his infuriated friend charged her again.**_

_**Looking up and down quickly, Chloe weighed her options and kicked at the fallen man's broken arm, causing him to scream and let go of her in a stream of curses, giving her the second she needed to duck the second man's attack and bring the remains of her flashlight violently into his already battered face, hitting him on his nose.**_

_**With the man on the ground crying and cursing, down for the count, Chloe kept her eyes on the last man standing, the one with the bloody face and demonic eyes.**_

Clark watched entranced, unable to believe the fluidity, the grace in which Chloe dodged their clumsy attacks and delivered coldly calculated, perfectly executed blows of her own. She was a tiny curvy little thing that had one huge beefy man crying desperately on the ground, and had seriously wounded another.

His Chloe would have had a taser gun with her…this Chloe seemed more like…like…like…like _Lois_.

_**When he lunged at her, Chloe stumbled on the uneven ground and it was all the leverage he needed to grab her, twisting her arms painfully behind her and grinning vengefully.**_

_**Closing her eyes, knowing this was going to hurt, Chloe brought her boot down as violently as she could on his sneaker, and when he cried out, bending in pain, she brought her head back hard against his face.**_

_**The wetness that exploded and made her hair sticky as he screamed was warm…blood.**_

_**His**__**.**_

_**Clenching her fist when he let go of one of her hands in pain, Chloe shifted slightly and brought her elbow painfully into the mouth of his stomach, knocking the air out of him and causing him to let go of her completely.**_

_**Twirling on her heel, Chloe's thick-souled, boot connected with his face and he fell to the ground, hitting his head against a rock and slumping into unconsciousness.**_

_**Chloe's green gaze went to the man still crying on the ground. "I tried to warn you, didn't I?" She tried to ignore the way her limbs ached, and the fact that she was almost sure that the second brute had pulled her arm out of its socket.**_

_**It was going to pain like a bitch to put back in place as well.**_

Clark was amazed.

He took it back.

She was _way_ better than Lois had ever been!

_**Chloe's left shoulder was uneven with her right, just proving that she'd been right, and the muscles in her cheeks tensed as she stumbled towards the wall of the cave and braced herself, a scream echoing from her mouth when she slammed her shoulder against the wall of the cave, a loud popping sound announcing her shoulder entering its socket once more.**_

_**"God!" Chloe hissed, leaning her back against the cave's wall, good arm holding her injured one. Closing her eyes, she took in deep, quick breaths, obviously trying to handle the pain.**_

_**Classical music echoed off the walls of the chamber.**_

_**The brunette slowly let go of her injured arm and reached down with her good one, pulling her cellular from her back pocket and flipping it open. "Hey baby." Her voice and smile was strained. "I knew it was going to be you. Hmmm? No, I'm fine. Everything's great."**_

_**She winced as she pushed away from the wall and looked down at the fallen bodies of her attackers. "No, I fell and injured my arm, that's all." She smiled shakily, the pain obvious on her face. "You know me, I'm a klutz. I didn't realize that the rocks were smooth and I just fell on my arm."**_

Clark frowned.

Why wouldn't she tell her _boyfriend_ about her attack? And who was this boyfriend anyway? Chloe shouldn't be with someone whose family was so hated that people would only attack her because she was dating one of them.

Then again, even if Chloe had been dating the nicest human alive, Clark wouldn't want her with him anyway…

_**"Yes, I'm coming right away." Her smile turned genuine. "I don't need a doctor you weeny. I just fell down." She rolled her eyes and walked over the prostrate bodies of the men. "Okay, okay, if it will soothe you I'll let you take me to the hospital."**_

_**She looked up when a young man carrying a gun hurried into the cave, freezing when he saw the men on the ground.**_

_**Chloe frowned, bristling immediately as she turned her back on the newcomer and growled into the cellular. "You sent Antonio to follow me?!"**_

The image disappeared, and Clark looked away, around him. He was soon leaving the fortress, if he could believe anything Jor-EL said, and he'd be returning to the world he'd loved and missed.

But for the first time since timelines and memories had been messed with, Clark was _frightened_ to go back. Chloe was so different--she even _looked_ different, and while he knew that no matter how she looked or acted, deep down inside she was still the same girl who'd been loyal to him and whom he'd realized he loved with all of his heart…

…he was frightened that maybe this new version of her might just brush him off and he would have lost all chance with her.

He'd seen the way her face had changed, _softened_, when she'd spoken to her boyfriend. She loved him.

_But she loved me first_. _She was meant for __**me**__._ Clark narrowed his eyes. _And hidden somewhere deep inside of her subconscious she knows that, all I have to do is remind her._

And he would.

He'd sacrificed a lot of things this time around for the world--for his training--but the one thing he refused to give up was his Chloe.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

Chloe winched at the sound of hurt in her boyfriend's voice as she sat on their bed, bathed and allowing the family doctor to look at her bruises and her arm. He'd wound it up in a bandage to help keep it in place until it healed, and had said that everything considered, she was fine…

The men who had attacked her, on the other hand, were both in the Smallville Hospital and one in need of surgery to mend his broken bones.

"I didn't want you to worry." Chloe sighed, looking down at her shoes in guilt as the doctor stood, said something to Lex, and left the room.

"You didn't want me to feel guilty." Lex accused once the doctor had been gone for some minutes and silence had descended on the room. "You didn't want to tell me because you didn't want me to do anything to those bastards."

And he was right.

Chloe knew that Lex would find out why the men had attacked her, and the guilt would eat at him. He loved her, protected her, and to know that she'd been attacked because of his family would break at him.

So, yeah, she'd been worried about the men who'd attacked her.

Sure, they'd attacked her, but she felt sorry for anyone who incurred the hatred of _any_ Luthor.

There was a knock on the door, and a maid stuck her head inside the room. "Excuse me, but Mister Luthor is on the phone." She held out the cordless phone.

Lex sighed. "I'll take it in the study."

The maid blushed. "I'm sorry sir, but the call is for Miss Lane."

Lex frowned.

Chloe looked up in surprise as the maid entered timidly and passed her the cordless phone before hurrying out of the room. "Hello?"

"_I heard what happened._" Lionel Luthor had never been one for niceties.

Chloe frowned. "How did you find out so quickly? The doctor just left."

"_And called me._" Lionel announced as if this should be obvious. "_I hope this goes to show Lex what a horrid job he's been doing lately at keeping you out of trouble._" He growled in anger._ "And who do those small town hicks think they are—attacking a Luthor_?"

Chloe kept quiet, knowing that Lionel wouldn't listen to her if she told him _once more_ that she _wasn't_ a Luthor. Despite the fact that she was the daughter of his employee, Lionel had taken her under his wing from youth, and she'd gone to the best schools with his financing.

Despite his reservations with her and Lex's relationship at first--saying that he didn't think Lex would be an appropriate partner for her--Chloe couldn't help but think that Lionel had been _grooming_ her for the position of a Luthor since she was _five_.

And ever since she was sixteen and officially Lex's girlfriend despite their age difference, Lionel Luthor had been making subtle comments on how he wanted Lex to make things more _official_.

And those hints had gone from subtle to blunt to _cutting_ now that she was an adult and working at the Daily Planet.

"_I hope Lex has everything under control and that I don't have to go to that horrid little place to deal with things myself."_

"Everything's fine, Lionel." Chloe looked up at Lex and gave him a small, guilty smile. "The police are going to bring them in as soon as the hospital releases them."

"_You gave it to them good, or so I was told_." He sounded so damned proud that Chloe's heart hurt, wishing that Lionel could say or act half as proud of Lex. "_And how are you, dear?"_

"I'm fine, my shoulder's a little sore, but other than that I'm great." She got up and went to the closet, where the servants had unpacked her and Lex's clothes. "Lex and I are going out to dinner with a family we met the other night, so I'm going to have to go to bathe now."

"_Do you think that's prudent? __**Mingling**__like that?"_

"Lionel, you're a snob." Chloe knew that she was the only one he let get away with her cheekiness, and that was probably because from a child she'd always spoken her mind with him and he'd always admired that.

"_I just don't want to give those inbred hill-billies the chance to try hurting my family again_." There was a moment's silence and then he spoke with mild amusement. "_You mightn't be able to defend Lex if a fight should occur_."

Chloe closed her eyes and bit on her tongue to keep from snapping at the man on the phone. "I really have to go, Lionel."

"_Okay then, pass the phone to my son_."

She'd been worried he'd ask for that.

Sighing she passed Lex the phone and went to the bathroom. Despite the fact that her body was in pain and she felt somewhat shaky, she wasn't going to miss the dinner with the Kents…something just said that she _had_ to be there.

* * *

"_My son, I have trained you to the best of my abilities, and you are as ready as you will ever be." _Jor-EL's voice announced in an ominous way. "_Soon your training will be tested."_

Clark frowned. "What do you mean?"

"_You will know when it happens_." Jor-El's voice grew dimmer. "_I have faith in you, my son."_

Clark nodded, and couldn't help but smile.

He was going home.

* * *

Hey! There should be Chlark meeting in the next chapter!

**Review?**


	6. Dinner Interrupted

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**I wanna thank all of you out there who are reading and reviewing this story for me. I'm finding it so fun, and your reviews give me inspiration and a little giggle. **

**Here you go, people, the Kent Dinner and Clark FINALLY appears...and the reality of the present hits him like a truckload of glowing green Kryptonite.**

**Spoiler for VORTEX.**

* * *

"We're going to be late." Chloe complained as they drove down the dirt road they were almost sure was the one that would take them to the Kent farm.

"I'm sorry if I wanted to make sure you were okay." Lex fixed his rearview mirror.

"But the family doctor had already seen me." Chloe pouted, knowing that she was whining yet not stopping. "And why did I have to have my blood taken?"

"You were cut and scraped, we had to make sure that no filth got into you." Lex announced, not taking his eyes from the road. "And the doctor wanted you to have some x-rays done to your shoulder to make sure that you don't need to put it in a cast—or at least a sling."

"It's not the first time I've dislocated my shoulders, Lex, I think my body is used to it by now." Chloe rolled her eyes, arms folded over her chest childishly. "I'm sore, will be for days, that's all. You've got to stop being so paranoid."

A smile curved his lips. "When it comes to your safety I'll be as paranoid as I want to be, thank-you-very-much."

She smiled. "Bully."

He glanced at her and flashed her a grin before returning his attention to the road. "You look gorgeous, by the way."

"Liar." She grumbled grumpily. "None of my shirts fit me with these bandaged around my shoulder, and so I had to wear a spaghetti strap shirt…with a _huge bandage_ on my _shoulder_!" She pouted again. "I look retarded."

"Well, I _did_ say we should just not go." Lex reminded her in a sing-song voice.

She glared at him for finding this amusing. "I said we were going to go, I always keep my word."

"Yes, of course you do." Lex nodded, smirk in place.

"You be glad that I don't want to get into another accident or I'd hurt you right about now." Yet Chloe was grinning at him, unable to stay annoyed with Lex for long.

"Hey, look, we found it."

Chloe looked up at saw the large, red farm house ahead. A dizzying sense of deja vu rocked her body, and she placed a hand on her head.

"You okay baby?"

"Yeah." She nodded, eyes closed. "It's just the pain relievers, you know how they affect me at first."

"You sure you want to do this?" Lex asked once more as they parked where the other cars were parked. "We can just go in for a couple of minutes, leave the wine we brought, and leave."

"No--I really want to do this. With our hectic schedules we haven't had much time to go out and mingle together." Chloe opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Let's go inside and enjoy this, okay?"

His eyes searched her face before he nodded and smiled softly. "Come on then, let's go do this."

* * *

The get-together was actually more entertaining than Lex would have thought, and he found himself deep in conversation with Jonathan Kent. Something about the older man had made him feel slightly wary, on edge, but when the criticism and harshness he'd for some reason expected hadn't arrived, and instead he'd found an interesting debate on the politics in Metropolis--well--for some reason Lex had felt _at peace_.

Not surprising, everyone had discovered that he was Lex Luthor--it _was_ a small town after all--_and_ they'd heard about Chloe's attack as well. Lana Lang and her fiancée, a more wary African American, had heard about it when they'd gone to pick up medicine at the Smallville Hospital for Lana's aunt, Nell.

Martha had only discovered the happening when Lana mentioned it after seeing Chloe's bandaged shoulder, and the woman had looked _horrified_ when Lana retold the story.

She'd endeared herself to Lex for her genuine concern for Chloe.

And despite Chloe's comment on looking 'retarded', Lex couldn't help but think she looked gorgeous. Sure, the bandages clashed with the whole ensemble, but that was just Chloe. She got into scrapes, she got bruises, and then she got into more scrapes.

He was okay with it as long as she was alive, safe, and by his side. He really didn't care _how_ she looked anyway, he'd fallen in love with her snark and their verbal judo--_not_ just because she was beautiful.

"You know, I actually read your work faithfully." Lana was saying to Chloe, smiling at her with genuine admiration. "That article you did on Wayne Enterprises, linking them to _Batman_? That was amazing." She grinned at Chloe's embarrassed smile. "I actually didn't realize who were you until Sheriff Watson told Pete that the girl who'd kicked those two goons' butts was Lex Luthor's girlfriend—Lois Lane."

Chloe's eyes sought his and she smiled at Lex before returning her attention to Lana.

"I feel partly responsible for what happened to you." Lana winced. "I mean, those men apparently overheard our conversation at the Talon and that was how they knew that you were going to be at the caves."

"Hey, it is _so_ not your fault!" Chloe exclaimed. "Those men would have come to the _castle_ if they hadn't known I was going to the caves. They really wanted to make someone hurt, and they wouldn't stop just because of some inconveniences."

Martha frowned.

"I was so shocked when Sheriff Watson said that you'd left them in the hospital." Amusement and glee caused Lana's hazel eyes to turn a little more green. "That's what they get though. How did you learn to fight like that?"

"Two years ago my cousin Dinah and I were mugged by two huge brutes and we got knocked around a bit because we didn't want to give up our purses." Chloe winced at the memory. "Lex wanted to put a full security team on me twenty-four/seven, but I told him I wasn't having it. He gave me the option of either having body-guards, or getting taught to defend myself."

"And you chose the self-defense." Lana smiled, obviously approving of this option.

"Yeah, my cousin and I have been taking regular classes ever since."

"And it paid off." Martha interjected. "Although it was horrible that the situation arose in which you _had_ to defend yourself."

Lex couldn't agree more.

The sound of Jonathan Kent clearing his throat caused Lex to turn back to the elder man with a somewhat sheepish expression on his face for having been caught staring at his girlfriend and ignoring his host.

"You know," Jonathan took a sip from the goblet of wine he was enjoying. "I used to look at Martha the same way when I first met her." He grinned, lost in the memory. "I remember feeling like such naïve hick, and she was all gorgeous and sophisticated and somewhat insane to actually like me."

Lex smirked at the description. "Yes, well, my father thinks Lois is insane for liking me, so I guess I can understand the feeling."

Jonathan was silent for a moment. "You love her, son?"

For some reason, Jonathan Kent calling him 'son' made Lex's chest swell with pride. "Yes sir."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Since she was sixteen."

"That's a long time." Jonathan paused. "You planning on making an honest woman of her?"

"I actually proposed to her when I was eleven, at that age we'd already realized that the other was the only one of the opposite sex that we could stand." Lex smiled. "She around six at the time, and she promised to marry me when the time was right…and I'm hoping that it'll be soon."

Jonathan was silent, weighing his words, before smiling. "This is good wine."

Lex nodded in acknowledgement of the compliment. "I'm glad that you like it."

"That's it." Pete Ross announced, coming to join them. "If I have to hear them talking more about female things I'll go insane! What are you two talking about?"

"Engagements." Jonathan smiled, clapping the man on the back. "It should be right up your alley."

"Alright everyone, let's go to the table to eat!" Martha Kent announced, leading the way to the table that was beautifully decorated, Chloe and Lana giggling together as they followed like a pair of high school friends.

Lex smiled as he saw Chloe smiling like she only did when around him and Dinah. He then exchanged smiles with Pete and Jonathan, and passed Martha, who squeezed his arm with motherly affection before showing him to the seat next to Chloe's.

The billionaire felt Chloe's hand seek his beneath the table, and he squeezed it lovingly as Jonathan Kent led the table in prayer before they continued laughing and talking all at once, as if they'd known each other all of their lives.

He had never felt something so familiar, so _nice_, as this.

Maybe coming to Smallville hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

* * *

Clark hesitated outside of the door to his home. He'd noticed the cars outside and could hear the faint sound of laughter coming from the dinning room--obviously his parents were entertaining guests--and were having a great time at that.

He wondered if he should knock and wait for someone to answer or just stride in as if he'd never left…or maybe he should wait outside in the barn until the people left? It might put his parents on a spot if he arrived and everyone started asking where he was and what he'd been doing, and he didn't want to put any strain on his parents.

Clark turned and took a step towards the barn…

"_I don't believe that!_" Lana Lang giggled from inside. "_Did you really do that?"_

"_Yep_." It was _her_. _She_ was _inside_. "_Dinah and I got into a LOT of trouble--but we got our story for the school newspaper, so it was all worth it."_

Clark's heart skipped a beat as he turned back, and flung the door open, stalking towards the dinning room. The Kryptonian stopped in the doorway, frozen in place, as he finally saw her in flesh…and she was more beautiful than he remembered her.

Chloe sat across from Lana, long brown hair falling down her shoulders in loose curls, and her eyes greener than he remembered. A full smile curved her dark red lips as she threw her head back and laughed as hard as Lana and the rest of them were at the story she'd just finished telling--a story he hadn't really heard because he was too intent on soaking her up.

Like a man dying of thirst, Clark drank her up, feeling the desperation that'd existed within him from the moment he'd discovered Jor-EL's betrayal begin to disappear.

Everything was fine.

Chloe was here.

_He_ was here.

Everything would be fine once more.

"Baby, remember when Dinah and I got mistaken for under-aged prostitutes and spent the New Year's in jail?" Chloe turned to the man to her right that Clark had missed in his desperation to just _look_ at her.

"Yeah, though I don't find that memory half as funny as you two do." The man announced…in a _very_ familiar voice.

Clark's blue gaze jerked towards the man and he froze in horror as an auburn-haired _Lex Luthor_ brought Chloe's hand to his mouth and kissed it as she smiled adoringly at him.

_No_…**No**! He forgot to breathe, horror building in his chest as suddenly the enormity of _what_ Jor-EL had done hit him full-force. _No, __**please**__, anything but this!_

Chloe frowned slightly when Lex turned to Jonathan and smiled, answering something Clark's father had said. The brunette girl blinked, looking at the table, at her utensils, as if confused.

_Chloe…please…tell me this isn't true…that you…that Lex…Chloe….__**please**__!_

And then she did it, she looked up and her confused green eyes met his pleading baby blues, before widening in surprise.

_Chloe_.

Clark felt lost in her green orbs, sensing the woman he loved deep within those misty irises, trying to draw her out.

Chloe's utensils slipped from her hands and clattered loudly on the plate of food in front of her, drawing the attention of everyone at the table to her, and then to him as they turned to see what'd captured her attention.

Suddenly everyone was silent.

Clark couldn't care, he didn't dare break the eye-contact he maintained with Chloe, who looked nervous, confused, completely conflicted, as if deep inside she remembered him.

His heart soared at the possibility.

He didn't notice Lex narrowing his eyes at him and stiffening in his seat.

"_Clark_!" In a blink of an eye his mother was out of her seat and in his arms, crying against his chest. His father, Lana and Pete were quick to their feet and crowded around him, calling his name, asking a million questions…and yet his eyes never left Chloe's.

_Remember me._ He pleaded silently with her. _**Please**__, remember me_.

She suddenly flinched and broke eye-contact with him, turning to look at Lex, who'd placed a hand on her shoulder.

Clark growled deep within his chest at the battle lost.

"I'm so glad that you're fine." His mother pulled away and looked into his face, frowning slightly when she followed his intense gaze and noticed Chloe looking down nervously at her plate, and Lex Luthor glaring at Clark, his arm possessively around Chloe's shoulders.

"It's been too long!" Pete announced, not noticing the tension in the room.

"My son is back!" Jonathan _also_ didn't notice the tension.

_Lana_, on the other hand, exchanged a nervous expression with Mrs. Kent as Clark's and Lex's gazes collided violently.

"Darling," Martha pulled of Clark's hand, causing him to look down at her. "I want you to meet some new friends." She smiled brightly, trying to pretend that nothing is wrong. "This is Lex Luthor--his family owns the large castle on the hill, remember?"

A muscle in Clark's cheek jumped, yet he nodded, knowing that he had to keep up the semblance of ignorance. Neither Lex nor Chloe remembered him, so they wouldn't understand his desire to throw Lex out of the house, to grab Chloe and kiss her until she couldn't breathe.

"And this is his girlfriend, _Lois Lane_."

Clark blinked in surprise. _LOIS LANE?_ Why was Chloe named _Lois_, and what had happened to the _real_ Lois? Sure, she'd been a pain in his neck, but he hadn't wanted her to be _erased_ from the face of the earth!

"Nice to meet you." He was surprised that his voice was so neutral.

Chloe quickly stood. "Nice to meet you too, Clark." And yet she wasn't looking at him. "Martha, Jonathan, thank you for the invitation, the food has been great, but my shoulder is killing me and I think Lex and I should be going back to his house now."

Lex stood up as well, a look of relief quickly crossing his features before they returned to their normal smug expression. "Thank you again, Jonathan, for that interesting debate."

Jonathan smiled at the young man. "Anytime, I enjoyed it as well! You come by again son, and we'll continue with what we were talking about earlier."

Lex's smile was softer, more genuine. "I'd like that."

Clark felt betrayal stab at his heart at this exchange.

"You come by the Talon tomorrow with that cousin of yours and you two can have coffee on the house in exchange for more stories!" Lana hugged Chloe--_Lois_--goodbye, being careful with her injured shoulder.

"It's a date." Chloe--Clark couldn't think of her by any other name--smiled at Lana and Pete before her gaze quickly rested on his face and she looked away immediately. "Have a good night everyone."

And with that, she was gone, Lex following behind.

Clark turned and watched her through the window until she entered Lex' silver jaguar and they sped away.

_Chloe…_

* * *

Lex held Chloe close to him as she slept on the bed next to him. When they'd gotten to the castle they'd both been perturbed and silent, and like two needy, confused people they'd fallen together, making love as if frightened that they would die tomorrow. Chloe'd met his desperation and urgency, and once they'd finally collapsed in bed she'd fallen right to sleep.

Lex, on the other hand, couldn't sleep.

Clark.

Clark.

The name of the Kent's son just _had_ to be _Clark_. Of _all_ the names that existed in the world, the name of the son of the two people he'd grown to care for in one night was _Clark_--just like the faceless person in his hallucinations--the faceless person whom the blonde Chloe loved desperately.

He pulled her closer to him in an subconscious way of reassuring himself that Chloe was there with _him_, in _his_ bed, tired from making passionate love with _him_.

_Chloe's not blonde--I'm not bald--Clark Kent is NOT the love of her life_.

And yet he felt more insecure and threatened than he ever had.

_He looked at her as if he…as if…as if he __**hungered**__ for her._

And she hadn't been unaffected by the tall stranger.

_But she left with me…she came home with me…__**she**__**chose me.**_

He calmed, realizing that Chloe might be attracted to this stranger, but she loved _him_, and it would take more than just a pretty face to change that.

Relaxing, he breathed in the scent of her hair and fell asleep.

* * *

They'd been searching for Mr. Kent for a while now, and yet Chloe was glad for the distraction because it kept her from remembering how Clark Kent had left her at the Spring Formal to go to Lana Lang,

_**again**__. She felt like such an idiot to have believed, for one minute, that Clark would really like her and forget all about the one girl he'd been obsessing over for years._

_"Uh, Chloe?" Clark turned to her while Pete went on ahead, trying to find where Mr. Kent could be. The tornados had really screwed up Smallville, and nothing looked like it should. "I've been wanting to apologize for leaving you at the Spring--."_

_Chloe closed her eyes, unable to let him finish that sentence, to break her heart and ruin their friendship. She didn't want to hear him stammer through a 'it's not you—I just love Lana'. "Oh, didn't I tell you that leaving in the middle of a tornado to save a friend totally gets you off the hook?" She inflicted cheerfulness that she didn't feel, covering up her breaking heart. "Besides, I mean, you'd do the same thing for me."_

_Clark gave her one of his breathtaking smiles. "Oh, in a heartbeat." His smile grew. "So, how can I make it up to you?"_

_"Actually, you know, I've been thinking." It was time to save what was left of her broken heart and shattered dignity. "It's funny how a natural disaster puts your life in perspective, but I think it might be better if we just stayed really good friends. Anything other than that just gets really complicated."_

_There was a second's silence before--. "Uh…yeah." Clark gave her a half-smile. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."_

_"You do?" Stupid her for hoping that he would fight for her. No one fought for her._

_"Yeah." Clark nodded after another second's silence. "Yeah, uh, our friendship is so important to me. The last thing I want to do is screw it up."_

_"Good. Great. Perfect." The little remains of her heart had just been stomped under his working boots. "I'm really glad we got that straightened out."_

_He wouldn't look at her. "I'm going to check over there."_

_"Okay, I'll catch up in a second. My feet are throbbing." __**And my heart is bleeding**__. She felt him hesitate before sighing and walking away._

_"Hey."_

_Chloe looked up and noticed Pete had come up next to her. "Hey."_

_"What's with the fake smile?" Pete asked, seeing through her façade unlike Clark._

_"Nothing." She hated the hitch in her voice as she tried to get control over her emotions. "Clark and I just reaffirmed that we're really good friends." She paused. "And nothing else."_

_Sympathy lit his dark eyes. "Pulled the friendship card on you, huh?"_

_"No, I did." She gave a self-hating scoff. "Defense mechanism."_

_His arm went around her shoulders in a comforting gesture. "Listen, Chloe, its okay to feel bummed out. Last night was supposed to be special and it got ruined."_

_"It was just so close to being perfect." Her voice hitched once more as she remembered feeling so __**right**__ in Clark's arms as they danced and looked into each other's faces. "Oh…listen to me." She wiped at a tear that'd escaped down her cheek. "I sound so pathetic. A tornado hit. People are in real trouble and I'm upset because Clark didn't fulfill my wishful fantasy." She shook her head at herself. "You must think I'm an awful person."_

_"Yeah. You're a real monster." Tenderness and something else tinted Pete's voice as he squeezed her shoulder. "Come on."_

Gasping for breath, Chloe jolted into a sitting position in the bed, looking around her at the darkness. She'd been having yet _another_ dream that'd affected her enough to wake up with tears streaming down her cheeks--but she couldn't remember it.

All she remembered was heartache.

Getting out from the bed, Chloe wiped at her eyes furiously and went to the window, throwing it open and looking up at the moon.

"What's happening to me?"

* * *

Clark stood in the loft, looking up at the moon. He'd had a dream of when Chloe had first pulled the 'we're better as friends' card on him, and not for the first time he wished he'd been brave enough to fight for her.

Now that he looked back on it, on her reaction to his accepting what she said, Clark realized that she'd wanted him to fight for her, but he'd been young and insecure and hadn't wanted to lose her so he'd readily accepted the terms.

But Clark had grown up, and now he knew what he wanted…_who_ he wanted.

This time he was going to fight for Chloe…and this time he wouldn't content himself with just being her friend.

He was going to right Jor-EL's wrongs, he'd finally be with Chloe, if it took him the rest of his life.

* * *

I was going to write this chapter tomorrow, but I decided to finish and post it a day early for you all! Review?


	7. A Prelude To Chaos

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**Well, I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter, but I was busy writing other things that just wouldn't leave my mind, but still planning on how to write this chapter and begin setting up drama for the chapters to come. I also wanted to show Dinah's protectiveness of Chloe, and her reasons for acting the way she does. I also wanted to show some interaction with Lana, so here I offer you this humble chapter and hope that you like it!**

* * *

"You know, I was invited to go spend the weekend in Cali with Sally, so the fact that I chose to spend it with you here in Hicksville should prove to you that I truly love you." Dinah announced as they walked into the Talon to meet with Lana as Chloe and the other woman had agreed upon the night before.

"Yes, yes." Chloe smiled as she rolled her eyes as she caught sight of Lana and waved at the chirpy other woman.

"That's Lana?" Dinah asked as they walked towards the woman behind the counter.

"Yep."

"Wow, you're right, she _is_ pretty." Dinah sounded surprised, then she just shook it off and smiled at Lana.

"Hey Lois!" Lana finished the last mocha and took off her apron and smiled brightly at the newcomer. "You must be Dinah, it's very nice to meet you. I read your and Lois' articles faithfully! And your last article about Senator Kelly's pilfering money from his own office to have his many mistresses and illegitimate children living better than the president? It was _amazing_!"

Dinah's grin turned genuine. "Yes, well, the guy's a pervert, and he really had it coming to him."

"I bet." Lana smiled before turning to a redhead next to her. "Shelly, man the fort while I'm gone."

"Sure Lana." The redhead nodded.

Coming out from behind the counter, Lana ran her fingers through her silken, dark tresses and took in a deep breath. "So, what do you two want to do first?"

"I want some coffee before anything else." Chloe blushed at the look Dinah gave her. "What?"

Dinah shook her head and turned to Lana. "The girl is _addicted_ to the thing. Lex and I have been trying for _years_ to get her to stop." She grinned cheekily at her cousin. "Coffee stunts growth you know--at least we all know _why_ you're the midget of the family."

Chloe made a face at Dinah.

Lana looked at them with amusement. "Okay, other than coffee, what do you want?"

"I, personally, want to go see those caves Lo told me about." Dinah announced, missing the surprised look that crossed Lana's face. "She said that there was something about the drawings that caught her attention, so I'm going to take some pictures of it and see if I can come up with some sort of--oh--I don't know _what_ I'll find, but we're both _really_ interested in it."

"And then we thought that we'd have a picnic at, I think it's called _Crater Lake_." Chloe supplied for Dinah. "All I have to do is call the castle and the servants will have a huge picnic basket waiting for us to pick up."

"_Plus_," Dinah trudged on, both cousins used to talking at once and finishing each other's sentences--or paragraphs. "We thought it'd be a cool way to get Lex out of his study for a while."

Lana tilted her head to the side, clearly amused with their interaction. "How?"

"Jealousy." Dinah grinned. "The Luthors are possessive Neanderthals. If Lois and I just _asked_ Lex if he wanted to come along, he'd say he was busy, and for us to have a great time--."

"--and not get ourselves into more trouble than we usually do--" Chloe grinned.

"--and that would be it." Dinah continued as if Chloe hadn't ever spoken. "But if I oh-so casually let slip that Chloe is going to be in her itsy bitsy red bikini, in a remote area, with other _men_--."

"--then he'll suddenly decide that he needs some fresh air." Chloe finished with a smug grin.

Dinah shook her head in confirmation.

Lana just grinned in amusement. "I'm going to have fun with you two, I can see that."

"Stick with me, and we'll go places." Dinah announced, placing her arm around Lana's shoulders with a cheeky grin.

Lana opened her mouth to say something when her hazel gaze landed on something and she grinned. "Well, girls, you're in luck."

Chloe turned to look at whoever Lana was waving over and froze when her gaze met that of Clark Kent's. Millions of emotions jolted inside of her, confusing and frightening her, and yet the brunette masked it well, tearing her green gaze from his blue, searching one.

She didn't notice Dinah's smile disappear when she noticed Clark's gaze on Chloe, or the way she was reacting to it.

"Dinah, this is Clark Kent." Lana stepped forwards and pulled Clark closer to the group, smiling a little too brightly. "He's actually the one who discovered the Kawatche caves, so he'd be the best guide for us." She tightened her hold on Clark's arm. "_Clark_, this is Lois' cousin, Dinah."

He tore his gaze from Chloe's face and turned to Dinah in surprise, eyes widening once he truly looked at her. "H-hello, _Dinah_?"

Chloe bit back a stab of jealousy and resentment. She had no right to feel like this. So _what_ if her cousin always had the men drooling after her? It'd never bothered her before! Chloe had Lex. She didn't _care_ if Clark was struck speechless by Dinah's beauty.

Dinah nodded wordlessly.

Lana smiled, appearing oblivious to the tension in the room. "Well, Clark, why don't you take us on a tour of the caves?"

* * *

Dinah Sullivan stayed a little behind the group as they toured the Kawatche Caves. Her excuse for this was that she was taking pictures, but the truth of it was that the reporter was keeping an eye on the situation and trying to discover just _what_ the situation _was_.

Her shrewd gaze appraised Clark. She knew she found him attractive—although he was _so_ not her type—and something about him made her feel trusting, and in other circumstances she'd have been there making great friends with him and teasing him or something. But right now she'd decided that she didn't like Clark Kent.

Or, better said, she didn't like the way Clark Kent looked at her cousin.

"This ugly fellow caught my attention when I came here yesterday." Chloe was saying, looking at a drawing of a two-headed monster on the cave's wall.

"Um, yeah, that's Segeet and Numan…" Clark continued to talk about the drawing, but his gaze never left Chloe's face--as her gaze never left the wall.

Dinah's frown grew darker.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem. There were many men who found her cousin breathtaking--why shouldn't they?--but Chloe had _never_ acted this way towards _them_. 'Lois Lane' had always had only one love in her heart (other than journalism of course) and that love was Lex Luthor. She'd never noticed other men, or their attraction towards her, she'd never shown signs of attraction to another man _either_--until today in the Talon, with this _Clark Kent_.

Dinah knew she was scowling horribly, but she couldn't help it.

She didn't like the fact that there was obviously a very strong attraction between Clark and Chloe. Lex was like a part of the family, Dinah loved him like a brother, and she didn't like the thought that Lex's position in the Sullivan family was being threatened.

Lex had always taken care of her as if she were his sister and he'd been there for her when she'd needed someone the most: her parents' funerals.

The dark haired beauty turned her back on the others and gulped when she thought back to that horrible time. Chloe had been there emotionally for her, and Lex had taken over everything, the funerals arrangements and bills. Dinah, who had always been jealous and somewhat resentful of his place in Chloe's life, had finally come to truly accept him as her family. She desperately wanted him to be her _real _family, and she'd been helping him by warming Chloe up to the idea of moving their relationship to the next level…

…and now she didn't like the fact that this stranger was a threat to what had been such an obvious path to take only a couple of days ago.

_Don't think I don't see your sinister little plan, Smallville._

She frowned, realizing that she was going to have to talk to Lex about this. There wasn't a doubt in her heart that Chloe adored Lex and would never have it in her heart to be unfaithful to him--she just wasn't the type--but Clark Kent was _gorgeous_, and he obviously had Chloe's immediate attention, her _whole_ attention--if her obvious show at _trying_ to be indifferent said anything.

Her cousin was _fighting_ that attraction so much Dinah could _see_ the war going on behind those green eyes, and _that_ was what frightened her.

And Dinah didn't appreciate the small smile on Lana's face as she looked between Clark and Chloe, as if she _approved_ of the attraction and was trying to _encourage_ it.

_Oh no you __**don't**_.

"So, _Smallville_," she ignored the way he flinched when she said that, butting in between him and Chloe. "What exactly was it that you were doing all this time anyway? Where were you training? What exactly were you learning?" She noticed the flash of surprise and worry that darkened his eyes, and she could just _smell_ fear. "What regimen exactly were you in?"

"Clark was training in the Peace Corps." Lana spoke up brightly, smile in place from Clark's other side. "He spent some time in Haiti, and I have some of the postcards and pictures he sent us. It's such a lovely place!"

Dinah frowned. Okay, so he _hadn't_ been doing anything hideous while he'd been missing, and there was physical evidence to prove that he'd been there.

Okay.

_Fine_.

She could find something _else_ about him that would prove to Chloe that he was _not_ someone to be interested in--and all without Chloe realizing what exactly it was that she was up to.

"Wow, _Peace Corp_, how _fascinating_." Dinah plastered a fake smile on her face and took a quick picture of Clark's face, knowing that the flash would momentarily blind him. "You'll have to tell us _all about_ _it_ sometime."

"Um," Clark blinked, rubbing at his eyes, obviously having trouble focusing to the darkness of the caves after the extreme brightness of the flash. "Uh, _sure_, sometime."

Classical music echoed throughout the chamber and Dinah smiled, knowing that it was Lex checking up on Chloe. The guy _adored_ her cousin, she was his reason of _living_, and Dinah loved him because of that, because he realized how special her cousin was and treated her as such.

"Hey baby." Chloe smiled, placing the phone to her ear. "How are you doing?"

Dinah chanced a look at Clark, surprised to see the pain and anger in his eyes as he watched Chloe give them her back and talk softly into the phone.

"We're at the caves." There was a pause and then she laughed. "I'm _fine_ Lex. Dinah, Lana and Clark are here with me."

Dinah turned to look at her cousin, wondering how Lex would react to that news. Luthor was _no_ fool, and Dinah was sure that at the dinner last night he'd picked up on the same thing she had this morning, and Dinah knew that Lex wouldn't appreciate Chloe hanging out with Clark--especially when he wasn't around to assert his claim on her.

_Not that I blame him_.

"Yeah." Chloe seemed tense. "We're going to have a picnic in a bit with Clark, Pete, and the Kents, we already asked them, and I want you to put down those books and--you'll come with us?" She smiled brightly. "Great baby! We'll see you when we leave here…the red bikini." A surprised and confused look crossed Chloe's face as she turned towards them. "But baby, I've never _had_ a one piece before!"

Dinah grinned and looked away.

Uh-huh, Lex was getting possessive again.

_Today is going to be a very, VERY interesting day._

* * *

"What do you think Clark is doing?" Jonathan Kent asked his wife with a scowl as they sat together in the kitchen. They'd just been called by Lana and had agreed to go to this picnic, but truly the only reason they'd done so was so that they could run interference between their hardheaded, and somewhat obsessive son, and the heir to LuthorCorp.

"He's fighting for her the only way he can." Martha sighed, looking down at the glass on the table in front of her. "Clark obviously isn't going to give her up despite it all, and he's trying to spark some memory in her."

"That's _dangerous_!" Jonathan scowled deeper. "If he sparks _her_ memory he could very well spark _Lex's_, and despite the fact that I like the boy now, I don't want his crazy alter ego going after my son!"

"He _knows_ that!" Martha didn't want to snap at her husband, she really didn't, but she was sick of having to be so tranquil and neutral in her husband's and son's arguments. "But I think that if he's willing to risk that to have Chloe back, then I think we should _support_ him in this!"

"Support--_support_?" Jonathan looked at her as if she was just as insane as Clark. "She isn't even _Chloe_, Martha! She's Lois Lane! She's been with Lex Luthor since she was _sixteen_! Clark isn't going to change that and he _shouldn't_."

"_Why not_?" Martha shot up and went to the sink, giving her back to her husband. "You don't _know_ how life was like for Clark before, Jonathan, you just _don't_. You don't understand how _important_ that girl was for this family! She could get through to Clark when even _I_ couldn't!"

Taking in a deep breath, Martha turned on the faucet and began to wash the few dirty dishes that she'd left from last night's festivities. "If Jor-EL hadn't changed things, Clark would have _asked her to marry him_ when he returned." She finally let her husband in on the secret that her son had told her before leaving to the fortress. "He'd already realized his feelings for her but didn't want to say anything until he felt ready to put Jor-EL behind him and be by her side without worrying about having to go train."

Jonathan was silent where he sat by the kitchen table.

"I have the ring he made for her in a secret place." Her voice wobbled as she let him know _that_ as well. "It's so _beautiful_, Jonathan, you can just _feel_ his love for her whenever you _touch_ it." She closed her eyes. "If Clark has any chance of getting that happiness again, even if he unleashes the fury of hell to have it, then I will be on his side every step of the way, sunscreen in hand."

* * *

Lex sat in his study, looking down at one of the countless folders filled with news clippings in which these _Meteor Freaks_ were featured. His father hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said that they were a danger to society, and that if they weren't stopped, neutralized, or at least _controlled_, they would be a danger to everyone's future.

At first Lex had been appalled by the experiments his father had conducted on human beings, but now he could understand _why_ his father would do this. These people were _dangerous_, they could one day band together and no army in the world would be able to stand up against them.

_Pyromania, mental control, telekinesis, shape shifting_…

He shook his head and shivered at the thought of a future with these creatures in control. He imagined Chloe going out researching some horrible murders and being killed herself by one of these _monsters_. He imagined their child being tormented in _school_ by these _creatures_.

He wasn't going to allow these _things_ put _his_ woman _or_ their future children in danger, he wouldn't, he'd protect Chloe with his life if he had to, but if there was a way to prevent that from happening, then he would do all in his power to do so--even if what he did could be seen as inhumane.

_And this IS an interesting little coincidence…_

He picked up a picture of one of the Meteor Freaks being taken into custody by the police, and in the background, a young Clark Kent was seen in the midst of the onlookers.

_He seems to be involved somehow in almost all of these cases_.

And Lex refused to believe that it was a coincidence.

* * *

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the update!


	8. The First Warning

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**Here you go people, the next installment in the Winds of Change story! Haha, I only intended it to have four or five chapters maximum since it was supposed to be an 'in between' Smallville and Superman, sorta 'filling in the blank pages' and yet here I am, posting the 8****th**** chapter already and with more ideas in my mind. Still, I don't plan on this being long, but I still have a couple of chapters in my mind. Maybe I'll do a continuation of it set in the 'Superman' universe, but that would be later when I've finished with my Requested Series and all of that. Oh well, I'm talking (writing?) too much, on to the next chapter!**

**Oh, yes, there is CHLARK AND CHLEX in this chapter for all of you, so, ENJOY!**

* * *

Chloe waved at Lex where he sat on the grass, wearing knee-length swimming trunks, before turning to the four young adults playing Chicken Fight. Dinah sat on Pete's shoulders and Lana sat on Clark's as the males tried to keep the females up straight and the two brunettes laughed and battled each other, trying to unbalance the other and cause them to topple into the water.

"Come on Dinah and Pete!" Chloe cheered them on from where she sat on the dock with Mrs. Kent, who was laughing and cheering on Lana and Clark. "You can do it!"

"C'mon Clark, Lana! Show them what you've got!" Mrs. Kent called out, amusement in her voice as she dangled her feet into the cool water. "They are going to beat the others."

"No way!" Chloe giggled, turning to the older woman. "You don't know Dinah, she doesn't have one bone in her body that _isn't_ competitive. There is _no_ way that she would let anyone beat her at _anything_--not even Chicken Fight!"

Martha laughed at that and continued to cheer her son's team enthusiastically.

Chloe rolled her eyes and turned from where she was sitting to once more look at Lex, where he sat next to Mr. Kent, with whom he was having a lively conversation. Both men seemed to be having a very good time, enjoying each other's points and arguments, and they broke out into laughter every now and then.

The brunette sighed and smiled at Lex, knowing that her boyfriend had missed out on this sort of fatherly time. While he _did_ get along with _her_ father, there were just some things you _couldn't_ talk about with the father of your live-in girlfriend, so she was glad that Lex had finally found someone male with whom he could just relax and talk about _anything_.

Lex's blue gaze traveled to her subconsciously, and when he saw her looking at him he smiled at her and mouthed the three words that made her heart skip a beat and butterflies dance in her stomach.

_I love you too_, she mouthed back, smiling tenderly at him with a contented expression, before turning her attention back to the fight going on in the water, watching as Lana gave a squeal and Clark tripped on something, bringing both of them down.

"Yes!" Dinah squealed, throwing her hands up in the air in victory as Lana and Clark emerged from the water, sputtering and wiping the water from their eyes. "Cry _losers_!"

Pete laughed wholehearted. "Baby, you look like a drowned rat!"

"_Excuse me_?" Lana exclaimed, mouth open, eyes twinkling. "You are _so_ going to pay for that comment, Pete Ross!"

He grinned suggestively at her. "I was hoping you would say that."

Lana grinned, blushing.

Clark looked at his two friends and rolled his eyes in amusement.

Dinah made up a face and slapped the top of Pete's head. "Don't use innuendos while you're between my thighs." She suddenly paused, frowning. "That didn't come out right."

Lana and Clark looked at each other before throwing their heads back and laughing, even _Pete_ laughed, while Dinah blushed and scowled at them all.

Chloe sniggered at her cousin, that girl always got in trouble because her brain never filtered what her mouth said!

Even _Mrs. Kent_ was laughing into her palm, trying to pass it off for coughs.

Lana finally stopped laughing before turning to Chloe. "Lois, it's your turn. You're going to have to defend Clark and my honor and beat your cousin."

Chloe looked back at Lex, who deep in his conversation with Mr. Kent. "I don't think Lex is up to it."

"No prob, just use this big guy." Lana smiled, slapping Clark's muscled arm playfully.

Chloe froze, gaze going to Clark and noticing that he'd done the same. Once again that spark that she was trying desperate to convince herself _didn't_ exist, shot between them, causing her to _jerk_. "I—I--."

Dinah frowned. "You know, I'm tired, I think we should get a little break and--."

"Are you nervous Lois will beat you?" Lana turned to Dinah with a smirk.

"Of _course_ not!" Dinah sputtered, turning her attention back on the petite brunette. "I could beat Lo with my hands tied behind my back!"

Lana suddenly grinned brightly, as if she'd won some battle. "Really, huh?" She turned to Chloe. "That sounded _lot_ like a challenge Lois, you gonna let your cousin talk like that about you?"

Normally Chloe would be the first jumping onto whoever's shoulder and trying to knock her darling, arrogant cousin a peg or two, but when those shoulders were _Clark Kent's_…well…she was _hesitant_. There was something strong and hot between them, and she didn't know if she'd be able to continue to deny it if she _touched_ him.

"Go on." Martha encouraged. "I'll even cheer for you!"

"But--." Chloe thought desperately for an excuse to get out of this. "But--."

"Come on." A voice said in front of her, and Chloe turned to see that Clark Kent was right in front of her in the water, hand outstretched. "Let's show them."

Chloe looked down at that hand and then at his eyes before looking back at the hand. She couldn't back down now, it'd look suspicious. "Okay." She whispered, reaching out tentatively and wrapping her fingers around his much larger, calloused hand, gulping loudly, eyes widening at the heat that shot up from that touch, accompanied by a strong electric shot.

She tried to jerk her hand from his but Clark's hand closed over hers, keeping their hands joined. "Come with me."

Her heartbeat raced in her chest, trying to understand why his touch seemed so _familiar_ to her as he gave her his back and she shuffled forwards on the dock, getting onto his shoulders uncomfortably and then giving a little squeal when he let go of her hands and his went to her thighs, rocking her slightly so that she was nestled closer to him.

Chloe's body erupted in heat, and she froze, the hands on her thighs seeming to _tingle_, and she knew that there was no way that she would be beating Dinah today, _not_ with Clark touching her. She could hardly _think_, much less fight with her cousin!

_You can do this, just, just, just __**concentrate**__. Clark is any other boy, you've done this before, all you have to do is concentrate on the game and everything will be fine._

And then, as Clark waddled back towards the others in the deeper part of the lake, his thumbs rubbed the softness of her skin, causing her eyes to close momentarily and her body to shiver at the caress…

…and all concentration flew out of the window.

Chloe shook her head and opened her eyes, taking in a deep breath and tensing on his shoulders, looking at Dinah and wondering why her cousin was frowning so darkly at them.

"This is going to be quick." Dinah promised them in an oddly tense voice.

"Hell yeah!" Pete agreed, fired up and ready to play. "You suckas are going _down_!"

"I don't think so." Clark sounded amused. "We're winning this."

"_Dream on_ Clarky-boy!" Pete shook his head.

"It'll be over before it even started." And yet Dinah was looking at _Clark_ as she promised that. "You have no chance, so I'd tell you to back down before you get hurt."

Clark tensed under Chloe. "I don't think so."

Chloe frowned, they were taking this game _way_ too seriously! "Okay you two, enough. Let's do this."

And they began. Chloe felt lucky because while she was distracted, so was _Dinah_ for some reason, so the fight was equal. The cousins tickled and pushed and did everything to unbalance the other, while Pete and Clark tried pushing the other with their legs.

Chloe, noticing that Dinah's gaze went down to Clark for a moment, took the advantage and reached for under her arms, tickling her in the place that sent Dinah weak with laughter. And as Dinah squealed and jerked, Clark somehow unbalanced Pete, and the handsome dark man gave a yelp and Dinah squealed as they both went under.

"YEAH!" Martha clapped, laughing from the dock.

Dinah and Pete surfaced, coughing and taking in deep breaths of water.

"Whooo-yooo!" Chloe laughed as Clark hollered victoriously, twirling them around slowly in the water in a weird form of victory dance.

"Who's the drowned rat _now_ baby?" Lana snickered from the sidelines.

Pete sent her a mock-glare, yet the mischief in his eyes belied any anger he was trying to pull-off.

Dinah growled and slapped the water angrily, and then took in a deep breath, calming instantly. "Fine, fine, you two win. Let's go and get something to eat? I'm starving."

"Me too!" Lana nodded enthusiastically. "The food Lois and Lex brought with them looked _wonderful_!"

Dinah nodded before turning to Clark. "You can put her down now, Smallville."

Clark hesitated for a moment before nodding, his hands sliding up her thighs, causing her body to visibly _shake_ as her pores exploded with electricity everywhere he touched her, before holding her with one arm and swinging her around as if she weighed _nothing_, earning a little shriek from her.

The brunette didn't know how he'd done that that easily or quickly, but the next second she was sliding slowly down his chest, his body a mass of steel and electric heat, his hands at her waist, his eyes boring into her, leaving her breathless and unable to look away.

Finally her feet touched the floor of the lake, and yet his hands remained on her hips, her hands on his chest, and their gazed locked on each other's.

Clark's eyes were dark, intense, focused solely on her. "We make a good team, don't we?"

She couldn't talk, her throat had gone suddenly dry and she was unable to even _open_ it.

The fingers on her hips played teasingly with the thin strings that held the bottom half of her bikini in place.

Once again she trembled at the feeling.

"I'm _starving_!" Dinah announced, grabbing Chloe by her upper arm and pulling her away from Clark, an almost _too large_ and utterly _fake_ smile on her face as she pulled Chloe along with her to the shore. "Let's go eat!"

Chloe looked at her cousin, feeling both _appreciative_ for her actions and curious. It was obvious that Dinah didn't like to see her and Clark together, and Chloe wondered _why_. She blinked as a possibility hit her and she looked at her cousin in interest, wondering if Dinah was _attracted_ to Clark and felt _jealous_.

Chloe suddenly grinned.

This was the best possible thing that could have happened to her!

All she had to do was get Clark together with Dinah and that would solve all of her problems!

Smiling brightly, the reporter felt better, knowing that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Jonathan Kent didn't like how things were going, he didn't like it at all.

Despite the fact that Martha was all for Clark doing whatever to win Chloe over, _he_ wasn't. Jonathan _liked_ Lex, he truly liked the younger man, who was intelligent and witty and obviously _adored_ the girl to death. He'd watched Lex sending her quick glances while she was on the dock, making sure that she was fine, and then he'd noticed Lex tensing and had turned to see his son lowering Chloe suggestively down his chest.

Clark was playing a dangerous game, a game Jonathan just didn't appreciate.

Call him old-fashioned, but he believed that a true gentleman _never_ poached on another's territory, and Chloe was _definitely_ Lex's.

And while there was an obvious attraction her and his son, as Jonathan watched Chloe and Lex sitting together, eating, Chloe laughing and Lex's arms around her possessively as she sat between his thighs, glaring at Clark with a look that screamed _BACK OFF_, well, Jonathan truly believed that his son _should_ back off.

But the look Clark was giving Lex proved that he didn't plan on doing any such thing.

Sighing, Jonathan turned to look at his wife, who was looking torn about the whole situation. She obviously wanted Clark to be happy, but saw how happy Chloe and _Lex_ were together. His wife was a good, caring woman, and a situation like this would _obviously_ tear at her.

And, of course, there would be the whole Lana/Dinah thing. Both women were stubborn and both were obviously rooting for different teams.

Lana noticed the way Clark looked at Chloe and the way Chloe ignored his looks, and she smiled.

_Dinah_ looked at Chloe and Lex, as her cousin sat in between the billionaire's legs, with his arms around her and laughing at whatever he whispered in her air, and _she_ smiled.

Pete was the only one who seemed oblivious with the whole thing. He only had eyes for Lana--and the food, of course.

"I love you." Lex whispered in Chloe ear after swallowing the piece of pie she was personally hand-feeding him.

She smiled adoringly up at him, her eyes expressing the deep and genuine feelings she had for him. "I love you too, baby."

Dinah, overhearing that, smiled brightly and nodded to herself, as if counting that as a grand victory. She reached for another piece of pie and taking a large bite out of it.

Clark looked broken at that interchange, and Jonathan hoped to God that it would knock some sense into his son, but when the boy only shook his head and determination once more darkened his eyes, the elder Kent just _sighed_ in defeat.

The music in the boombox Pete had brought with him changed into a hip, modern beat that Jonathan tried to endure for the sake of the young adults. Honestly, he didn't understand why the people these days called this sort of noise _music_.

"Oh! I _love_ this song!" Chloe announced, eyes widening and smile appearing as she looked up at Lex. "Let's dance!"

He grinned down at her. "You know I don't dance."

"Yes you do." She grinned, getting up and pulling a chuckling Lex up with her. "C'mon, you _know_ you wanna!"

Lana jumped up easily and pulled up a groaning Pete. "Let's dance too!"

"_Man_!" Pete laughed as he, like Lex, allowed his woman to drag him closer to the boom box as the remix to Rihanna's _Please Don't Stop The Music_ blared loudly.

Martha watched Chloe and Lex as they began to dance intimately.

Jonathan blinked, watching as Lana and Pete did some things that truly didn't look like _dancing_, but something much more _suggestive_.

"C'mon Smallville." Dinah surprised everyone by getting up and glaring down at Clark. "I'm not going to be the only one not dancing."

Clark frowned at her before getting up and following her to where the others were dancing.

Martha's eyes widened in surprise as Clark and Dinah began to dance.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow at he watched _that_ development. He doubted that Dinah had invited Clark to dance because she _liked_ him, that girl had been sending as many _back off_ vibes towards his son as _Lex_ had, so the farmer couldn't help but wonder what Dinah's angle was.

* * *

Chloe smiled up into Lex's eyes as his hands gripped her hips as they moved against each other intimately, letting the beat of the music and the familiarity of each other's touch take over. While Clark's touch burnt her like a raging fire, Lex's soothed and comforted her, made her heart swell in peace and satisfaction.

She felt _perfect harmony_ whenever Lex touched her, and she felt his love expressed through each caress of his fingers.

His hands on her hips drew her close until they were pressing against each other suggestively, and she could feel how being this close to her affected him.

Grinning, she tightened her hold around his neck and pressed her chest to his, resting her cheek on his shoulder, their bodies moving as one. That was what they were, _one_. "I'm glad you came here with us today. It wouldn't have been half as enjoyable without you."

He placed a kiss on the back of her neck. "I'm glad I came as well."

She smiled into his shoulder, breathing in the smell that was purely _Lex_. She loved that smell, had become _addicted_ to it during the years that they'd been together.

Like whenever Lex touched her, everything and everyone else disappeared, and it was only them as they danced to the music, enjoying the feel of each other's body, their heartbeats synchronized, beating as one.

"I didn't like when Clark touched you." Lex admitted in a soft voice so that only she could hear, and Chloe felt horrible when she heard the slight vulnerability in his voice.

"_Lex_…" She pulled away slightly and looked up into his face.

"I just _don't_." He whispered fiercely, his hands on her hips tightening their grip. "He wants you and I want to _kill_ him for it."

She felt horrible. She hadn't thought about how this would affect Lex, and guilt ate at her. Lex was obviously _hurt_, and she _hated_ herself because subconsciously she'd been a part of the situation that'd hurt him.

"I love _you_." Chloe whispered truthfully, raising her hand and cupping his cheek, trying to convey to him with her eyes _how_ much she loved him, and how she wouldn't hurt him or betray the trust he'd bestowed on her.

"I know." He whispered, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. "It's just that you're the _only_ good thing in my whole _fucking _life, Chlo, and I'd die if--I don't know if I can survive without--."

"Shhhh." She moved her hand so that it was covering his lips, stopping him from even finishing that sentence. "I'm never going to leave you." Chloe promised, smiling at him, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. She loved him _so much_! "So you don't have to worry about that." Her thumb brushed over his lips tenderly. "I'm not going anywhere."

He pressed a kiss to her thumb.

The music transitioned into the remix of Dream's _He Loves U Not_, and Pete suddenly cried out. "_Lana!_ You've been messing with my playlist again!"

Chloe turned to watch in amusement as Pete tried to pull away to change the song and yet his fiancé kept a good grip on him.

"Leave it." Lana ordered.

"But it's _chick_ music!" Pete whined, yet stayed with her, dancing to said _chick_ music.

"I happen to _like_ that song." Lana told him with a grin. "And it's short, it'll be over before you even know it."

"It's still _chick_ music." Pete grumbled, resigned to obey his woman.

Chloe looked up at Lex and they shared a quick chuckle at the two, who were acting like an old, married couple.

Soon enough the song ended and the song _Give It To You _By Eve and featuring Sean Paul blared up, and Pete looked a _lot_ more comfortable dancing to _that_ song, which caused Chloe and Lex no little amount of amusement.

Lex twirled Chloe around and pulled her back against him so that she was facing away from him, his erection pressing into the back of her bikini bottom. She grinned, loving how easily she affected him, and ground herself seductively against him as his fingers dug into the skin of her hips.

"_Tease_…" He whispered huskily in her ear before nibbling on the curve of her neck, causing her to shiver as he used her weaknesses against her.

"_Like __**you're**__ playing fair_." She closed her eyes and whimpered, reaching back with one hand and running her fingers through his auburn locks, fisting her hand in those silken tresses like she knew he liked it, slowly driving him insane as they danced.

Neither noticing the looks on them.

* * *

"Okay, Smallville, my father was a general so I know all the rules of engagement, so I know that before any battle was about to commence the leaders of each side would meet and speak things over to see if they were able to settle things amicably before blood was shed." Dinah announced to Clark when both of them tore their gazes off of Chloe and Lex. "And so this is me, talking to _you_, telling you that it's in your own best interest to back away from my cousin before someone--in other words _you_—get hurt."

He was silent, looking down at her as if examining her. "Why do you dislike me so much, Dinah?"

She frowned, not liking the way this conversation was going. "I don't _dislike_ you, Smallville, it's not something _personal_, I don't know you well enough for it to be that." She paused, choosing her words carefully before continuing. "I just know that you're trying to work yourself into an equation that you don't belong in."

He continued to look at her, not angry, not defiant, yet contemplative. "You can't be sure that they belong together."

She glared at him, exasperated. "Just _look_ at them, Smallville." She turned to Lex and Chloe, who were dancing together as if they were the only ones in the world. "How can you even _suggest_ that they don't belong together?"

He was silent, watching the couple, hurt, anger, longing and jealousy playing over his face, and it just didn't make any sense. Those emotions would be justified if he'd known Chloe and been in love with her a long time ago--but he'd only met her the night before! He was acting like he was _in love_ with her and that Chloe had _betrayed_ him somehow by being with Lex.

The guy was utterly _confusing_, because no matter _how much_ on Lex's side she was, Dinah couldn't help but suddenly feel _sorry_ for Clark--and _that_ pissed her off!

"I'm just warning you, Smallville." She stuck to her principals, no matter _how_ much like a kicked puppy Clark looked like at the moment. "Lex and Lois were _destined_ for each other, you try to change that and you're only going to end up being _hurt_."

He didn't answer her, yet continued to watch the couple in silence.

* * *

"I'm only going to say this once."

Clark looked up in surprise at the fact that Lex Luthor had managed to sneak up on him. When the dancing had stopped he'd gone to the bushes to attend to the call of nature and think about what Dinah had said to him, the last thing he'd expected was for his one-time-best-friend-turned-rival to follow him out.

"Stay away from Lois." There was no trace of the Lex Clark had known. No lingering friendship, no feeling whatsoever, the only expression on his face was one of warning. "I know she's gorgeous, friendly and funny, and I know for a fact that it's hard not to fall in love with her…but she's with _me_, and I'm not going to just sit by and watch you _touch_ her."

Clark tilted his head to the side in silence, examining Lex, realizing that the man was threatening him.

_That's two people in one afternoon warning me off Chloe._

"I like your parents." Lex continued in his controlled yet _cold_ voice. "And I wouldn't want to do anything to hurt them because they are some of the few genuinely _good_ people left in this world, but if you try to take Lois from me, I will bring down the fury of _hell_ on you."

Clark shook his head at the other man, knowing that nothing he could do could hurt him. "You don't deserve her, Luthor."

"No one does." Lex answered truthfully, not at all affected by that. "But I'm still keeping her."

Clark was shocked by that. He'd never seen Lex act this way with anyone, not even when he'd been 'in love' with _Lana_. It was _disconcerting_ to say the least.

"That's all I came here to say." And with that, Luthor turned and left him.

Clark frowned as he watched him leave. It appeared that no matter how many times the timelines changed, Lex Luthor and him were destined to be rivals.

* * *

The drive back was filled with laughter as Dinah entertained them with ridiculous jokes she'd heard, and yet it'd died down when she'd gotten a phone call that left her talking animatedly to whoever was on the other end.

"You had a good time?" Lex asked Chloe.

"Yeah." She smiled at him, hand resting comfortably on his thigh. "You?"

"Yeah." Lex nodded, eyes returning to the front as he drove down the road towards the castle. "I really enjoy talking to Mr. Kent."

"I'm glad." Chloe sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against the leather seat. "I'm so _tired_."

He grinned. "Out of shape, are we?"

"Hey!" She shrieked in laughter, slapping his arm before giggling and closing her eyes again, relaxing. "I'm just glad that I got you out of the castle before you went crazy studying those folders your father just _had_ to send you."

Lex shook his head, grin still on his face, but then it suddenly disappeared as he remembered the 33.1 problem. He was completely torn with the issue, and desperately wanted to ask Chloe's advice, wanted to know her _thought_ on the matter, and yet knew that he couldn't.

Or could he?

"You know, I actually got a little time to read a book." He spoke nonchalantly, looking ahead of him and signaling a left turn. "It's science fiction, about this town filled with weird people with these abilities and this facility that experimented on them."

"How horrible." She murmured tiredly, eyes still closed.

"You think so?" He frowned, taking a sideways glance at her. "But those people are _dangerous_, they've already attacked and hurt a lot of innocent people, using their abilities against the normal human beings."

There was a moment's silence. "How exactly did these people get these abilities? Was it a natural-born thing like _X-men_ or something forced on them like _Spiderman_ or something they just wanted and did all they could to get it, like animal sacrificing and soul-selling stuff?"

He paused, remembering that the meteor rocks were supposed to be responsible for this phenomenon. "The second."

"Well, then it's not their fault, is it?" Chloe yawned, turning slightly in her seat and snuggling, obviously nearly asleep. "And about the hurting people--I'm sure that there were people with abilities in that book that _help_ others, so just because they have abilities doesn't mean that they should be made _lab rats_."

He frowned, understanding her point, and yet not fully convinced. "So you think that they should have just left them alone and let them continue doing whatever it was they were doing?"

"No." Her voice was deeper with sleep. "But I think that they should be respected as human beings--having abilities or not they still are humans."

Okay, he hadn't exactly thought about that. He'd just seen them as _Meteor Infected_.

"They deserve a chance, like the rest of us." She responded softly. "But if they are caught using their abilities to do evil and hurt others," she yawned, "then they should be _contained_, neutralized, but not _experimented_ on."

"But how would we know how to neutralize their powers if they aren't experimented on?"

But he got no answer, Chloe had fallen asleep.

Sighing, Lex zoned out Dinah's chatter in the background and lost himself to his conflicting thoughts as they continued the drive to the castle.

* * *

There you go people, the next update!


	9. The Calm Before The Storm

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Spiderman.**

_Okay, this takes place the same day of last chapter. I am so happy because I only have a couple of chapters to go--around five the most--three the least--all depends on how I wrap things up. I am so enjoying this little 'in between Smallville and Superman' world!_

_Hope you like this chapter! ALSO, SPOILER FOR "CALLING"._

* * *

PRESENT

It was starry outside as the people in the Kent living room laughed and enjoyed themselves, all except Clark Kent, who looked torn and confused, lost without an answer to the millions of questions racing through his head. He watched as Chloe and Lex sat next to each other, Lex sipping wine and Chloe a glass of water, both bright-eyed and smiling adoringly at each other, and the Kryptonian closed his eyes in pain, unable to admit to himself that Chloe _truly_ loved Lex Luthor.

"I have something I've been meaning to ask Lois again for a long time now, and I can't think of a better time to do so." Lex's voice was mysterious and suddenly there was the sound of the chair sliding against the floor and people gasping.

Clark opened his eyes to see Lex Luthor kneeling in front of a wide-eyed, open-mouthed, Chloe Sullivan, and the billionaire was holding a white gold ring with a large diamond in the middle of it sparkling in the light.

"Lois Lane," Lex held her gaze with his, his face a mixture of longing and anxiety. "Will you marry me?"

* * *

FOUR HOURS EARLIER

It was just after three in the evening if the clock could be trusted, and Dinah looked up when Lex came into his study after taking a sleeping Chloe from his jaguar the moment they'd returned from Crater Lake, and took her upstairs to their room so she could sleep.

"How is she?" Dinah asked, a little worried about her cousin. Chloe had been doing this more and more lately--falling asleep during the middle of the day, which was so odd for her energetic cousin.

"She's sleeping." Lex went to pour himself a brandy and did the same for her, passing her the goblet. "She didn't even wake up when I took her upstairs and changed her clothes." He shook his head, a fond smile on his face as he took a sip of the liquor. "That woman is going to work herself into a coma."

Dinah smiled as the saw the expression on Lex's face, and knew for certain that she'd chosen the right 'side'. The guy _worshipped_ her cousin--as he _should_--and Dinah took a sip of the drink before taking in a deep breath. "Lex, you know that Chloe absolutely _adores_ you, right?"

He looked up at her from over the top of his goblet in interest. "Of course, and I love her just as much."

"Well, then, what I'm trying to say is that we both know that there's an attraction between her and the farm boy." Dinah winced when she saw the hurt expression cross his baby blues, and hurried on. "But I'm sure that you know that Chloe would _never_ act on that attraction, and, to be truthful, I'd be worried for her if she _wasn't_ attracted to him."

"And why is _that_?"

"He's one fine specimen, Lex." Dinah suddenly grinned cheekily. "He's not my type, I don't go for the seven-feet-tall-wall-of-muscles look, but even _I_ had to admire how he looked in those swimming trunks."

Lex raised an eyebrow at her.

She grinned brighter, and then it dimmed. "And where I'm going with this is that despite the fact that Muscle-Man _obviously_ returns the attraction ten-fold, Chloe would _never_ betray you." Dinah took another sip of the burning liquid. "Believe me, I'm her best friend and she's mine, she's told me all her deepest darkest secrets, and while I'm not about to spill what she's told me in confidence, I know that you're the most important person in her life."

A flash of reassurance chased away the worry in his eyes and he smiled softly, looking down at the brandy in his goblet. "As you know she is in mine."

"I know. You adore her, Lex, just as much as she adores you. You two were _destined_ to be together." Of that Dinah was sure. "You know that it was hard for me to like you at first, for some reason I distrusted, resented and just couldn't _stand_ you, and I'm sorry because you'd never given me any reason to do so, but despite the fact that I was acting like a first-class _brat_ with you, you still helped me when I needed you most, and, and, you became _my family_, Lex."

She'd never told him this before, so the surprise on his features was understandable.

Dinah took in a deep breath. "I _like_ you in my family, you're like the big brother that I'd always wanted to be able to tease and torment--."

Lex chuckled.

"And while I know that my say in everything doesn't matter, I _really_ want you to be my cousin-in-law." She looked down at her goblet, a little uncomfortable with baring her soul to Lex. The young woman wasn't known for these heart-to-hearts unless it was with Chloe, and she knew that Lex knew that and would see this for what it was.

She was officially making it known whose side she was on, how she felt, and that she was going to be on his side throughout the whole ordeal. She was _completely_ accepting him as a part of her family.

"Thank you, Dinah."

Hearing the choked sound in his voice, Dinah looked up and blinked in surprise to realize that he was fighting to remain stoic, but there was deep emotion in those blue eyes.

He smiled shakily at her. "You don't know how much those words mean to me—I always _wanted_ a little sister."

She grinned at him, fighting the prickling sensation behind her eyes by trying to be annoying. "Just so you know—I've been nice to you all along—but now that you've accepted the fact that you'll be my big brother of sorts from now on? You're life is going to be a living hell."

He grinned right back at her. "Will be looking forwards to it."

Downing the drink in one gulp, and wincing at the burn in her throat, Dinah placed the goblet on Lex's desk next to a folder that said **33.1**, but she ignored it. "And just so you know, if we meet up with Clark Kent again before returning to Metropolis, I'll run interference and keep him as far from Chloe as possible."

Lex was silent for a minute. "I trust your cousin."

Dinah grinned brighter. _Great answer_! "I know, but I wanna bug him a bit anyway."

Lex laughed.

Dinah was about to speak when the phone on Lex's desk rang, and she picked it up, placing it to her ear. "Luthor Residence."

"Hello, I'm calling from the Smallville Clinic." The nasal female said. "This is in reference to the personal check up Ms. Lane had? Doctor Weinstein would like to see her in his office to go over the results, this evening if possible?"

"Okay, sure, is everything alright?" Dinah asked, a little worried.

"Everything is perfectly fine, shall I tell Dr. Weinstein that Ms. Lane will be here this evening?"

"Sure, what time should we come?" Dinah ignored the curious look Lex gave her.

"Dr. Weinstein has an opening at four."

"We'll be there." Dinah hung up and looked at Lex. "That was the Smallville clinic; the receptionist said that the doctor wanted to talk to Chloe about her results."

Worry clouded his features. "Is something wrong?"

"No, she said everything was fine." Dinah waved that off. "It's just standard procedure." Her gaze rested on the folders covering his desk. "Why don't _I_ take her? You lost enough time with us out by the picnic anyway."

Lex opened his mouth to protest, but then his gaze rested on the folders and he sighed, running his hands through his auburn hair. "Thanks, that would help a lot."

"No problem," she smiled and she walked passed him, giving him a playful punch to the arm. "That's what _family_ does, right?" And with that she walked out of the room to wake up Chloe and get her ready for her doctor's appointment.

* * *

PRESENT

Martha Kent's hand went to her mouth and her eyes went from Lex Luthor proposing to Chloe right in their living room to her son. The night was painful enough for her boy as it was, and yet she knew that this was the best resolution for the situation. If Clark couldn't have Chloe then it should be final like this, maybe, maybe if he realized that she belonged to _Lex_ then he could back away and try to reassemble his life.

Tears skidded down her cheeks as she saw the horror, pain and impotence in her son's eyes as he looked upon the two, who only had eyes for each other.

_Why does he have to suffer more? Hasn't he suffered enough?!_

Her mother's heart broke as she watched the hurt and sadness on his every feature.

A hand covered hers and squeezed, and Martha turned to look at Jonathan, who gave her a small smile that not only conveyed that he understood and felt sorry that this pained them, but this was the right thing for Lex to have done.

Martha gulped back a sob and looked at those around the table, noticing that Lana and Pete were looking at Clark in slight concern while Dinah was grinning brightly, nearly _bouncing on her seat_ as her gaze, solely on Chloe and Lex, spoke volumes about how happy she was.

Martha closed her eyes and brought her napkin to her face.

* * *

TWO HOURS EARLIER

Lex Luthor looked up Chloe and Dinah, eyes wide, wondering if he'd been so tired that he'd fallen asleep on his desk and was having a dream. His gaze went from a nervous Chloe to a grinning Dinah, who looked like she was enjoying his perplexity _immensely_.

"You've left a Luthor _speechless_, Cuz." She grinned at Chloe. "Do you realize how _rare_ an accomplishment that is?"

Chloe sent a small grin to her cousin before it turned more nervous as she returned her gaze on him. "L-Lex?" Her voice shook. "Say something. _Please_."

"He might be catatonic." Dinah announced. "I'll slap him up for you if you want."

Lex stood up rapidly, because he _knew_ Dinah was capable of doing just _that_. His gaze rested solely on Chloe though, as he let what she's said sink in, his heart beating so fast it _pained_. "You're _pregnant_?"

She nodded mutely.

"I'm going to be a _daddy_?" His voice softened to a whisper, in complete _awe_ at the situation.

Chloe smiled softly at the expression on his face, bit down on her bottom lip, and nodded once more.

Dinah, seeing that Chloe was now just as speechless as Lex, rolled her eyes and offered up some information. "The doctor was angry that she hadn't told him she was four months pregnant during the check-up, if he hadn't done the blood-test he wouldn't have known, and said that he wanted to run some more tests to make sure that the fetus hadn't been hurt during the scuffle she had with those hicks by the caves."

Lex looked up in horror as he circled out from behind the desk and grabbed one of Chloe's hands, his other one resting on her still flat stomach. "Is it--? Is it _hurt_?"

"No." Chloe finally spoke, her smile _breathtaking_ as she lowered her free hand on the one he hand on her stomach. "We had an ultrasound. The doctor said that he was strong, healthy, and he even did a little kicking while we were looking."

"_Showoff_," and yet Dinah was _beaming_. "He gets that from his Auntie Dinah."

"_Him_?" Lex knew his voice was as choked as his eyes watery. "It's a boy?"

Chloe nodded, leaning into his touch when he let go of her hand and caressed her cheek in near _reverence_. "I was thinking that the best name to call him was _Julian_."

And he was crying.

While he uttered not a sound, Lex felt the hot drops of water skidding down his cheeks as he suddenly enveloped her in his arms and pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair and shaking as his tears fell freely. "_God_ I love you!" His voice was hoarse and muffled by her hair, but when she squeezed him tightly and returned the words, he knew that she'd understood, if not the words, the feeling behind them.

The sound of a door closing was the only evidence of Dinah leaving the room, and Lex held Chloe tighter before pulling away, looking down at her stomach in worry. What if he'd squeezed her too tightly?

"How can you be four months pregnant already?" he whispered to himself. "You don't look pregnant at all, and you haven't been feeling sick--have you?"

"No, I haven't." Chloe shook her head, looking radiant. "The doctor said that it's a rare occurrence, but _some_ women go through the whole of pregnancy without morning sickness and all of that--so I'm one of the lucky ones. Plus, my period has never been regular, you know that, it'll go for a couple of months and then come down twice a month for the nest couple of months after that."

Lex nodded. Chloe had _always_ complained about her irregular periods.

"And, well, I've been on that tuna and lettuce diet for months, and I've still kept up my routine practice with Dinah in the mornings, so I really haven't gained any weight." Chloe placed her hands on her stomach. "But Dr. Weinstein said I have to start gaining 'baby weight', so the moment Dinah and I got out of the hospital we went to go and pig out."

He grinned down at her.

His baby.

She was going to have _his_ baby…

"We should go back home right away and tell your parents."

She winced. "Can't it wait till tomorrow?" She looked down at her hands. "While Dinah and I were getting ice cream we ran into Mr. Kent—who was delivering some of their produce to the store next to the Ice Cream Parlor and the whole story kinda _came out_. He was so _happy_ for us and told us to come back to his house tonight and that we'd celebrate the good news."

Not even the thought of being near Clark Kent could dampen his happiness. "We'll leave tomorrow then."

She smiled up at him. "So you're happy with this?"

"Of _course_!" He was surprised that she had to ask. This was his dream come true! "I've never been happier in my life!"

"I love you." Chloe whispered, standing on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to his lips before rushing out, obviously to see wherever it was that Dinah had gone off to.

Lex grinned like an idiot before going back around his desk and collapsing in his chair.

He was going to be a _daddy_!

The phone rang and he picked it up. "Luthor."

"Congratulations son!" Lionel Luthor's voice announced. "I heard the wonderful news and had to call you immediately to congratulate you on the soon arrival of the newest Luthor!"

"Father, there are _rules_ against stalking." Lex announced smoothly, not truly bothered because he hadn't been surprised at Lionel's knowing about anything that happened in his life.

"Luthors are above rules, my son."

Lex felt a stab to his heart; that was the first time Lionel had ever called him _his son_, and with _pride_.

"So, I believe this is the best time to discuss the confidential matters I brought up to your attention during your little stay at Smallville."

Lex looked down at the folders pertaining to 33.1. "How is this relevant with my fatherhood?"

"Lex, _really_." Lionel sighed in disappointment. "Do you _want_ your son to grow up in a world with these _creatures_? The Luthor Heir should be protected, Lex, he deserves to grow up in a world safe from such dangers, as does the future Mrs. Luthor."

"The Meteor Infected aren't _creatures_, father, they are human beings who don't have a choice in what they've become."

"But they _have_ had a choice in _how_ they've used those powers, Lex!" Lionel announced. "And one day they'll band together and destroy us if we don't _at least_ know how to _contain_ them!"

Lex was silent, the same fear he'd been having now spoken by his father.

"Now that you will be a father, I want you to see this with a father's eyes." Lionel sighed. "I made this world a somewhat safer place for you and Chloe by keeping those dangerous _murders_ in check and somewhere where not only will they not be able to hurt anyone, but we can discover a way to neutralize their powers or at least control them so that one day they may be reintegrated into society."

The offer sounded so _tempting_…

"So, son, are you with me in the noble endeavor to make the world a better, safer place for those we love?"

* * *

PRESENT

"Yes!" Chloe threw her arms around Lex's throat as she threw herself at him, tears streaming down her face. "I'll marry you."

"Thank _God_." Lex whispered, arms around her as well, eyes closed and hugging her to him.

Lana sighed as she clapped half-heartedly along with everyone else, and turned to look where Clark had been seconds ago—only to find his seat empty.

Closing her eyes, Lana tried to make herself feel _happy_ for Chloe and Lex, but for some reason, something deep inside her told her that this was _wrong_.

* * *

She'd gone to the barn to see Clark on the pretext of asking him how things at Lex's wedding had gone. Chloe knew that she was losing the little ground she'd won with Clark, and she wanted to finally talk things over with him and know once and for all what his feelings were for her. If he felt for her what she did for him, then they'd move on together, and if he didn't--well--she'd cross that bridge when the time came.

_"You have so many secrets in your life." Lana's voice was brought to Chloe and she frowned, creeping up on the couple standing suspiciously close to each other on the loft, backlit by the starry sky._

_"I know." Clark sighed, moving _closer_ and shyly putting his arms around Lana, bringing her closer as he looked deep within her eyes. "I just don't want my feelings for you to be one of them."_

_And he pierced Chloe's heart with that sincere sentence._

_"Neither do I." Lana whispered, eyelashes fluttering closed as Clark lowered his mouth to hers and they kissed._

_Chloe's already broken heart __**shattered**__ as she watched the boy she loved kissing and giving his heart to __**Lana Lang**__--her supposed __**friend**_**.**

_Turning, biting on her bottom lip to keep the sobs silent, Chloe rushed out of the barn, tears flowing down her cheeks at the betrayal and heartache._

_She didn't see where she was going until she collided with a wall of __**steel**__ and looked up into a now adult Clark Kent's haunted eyes as he looked down at her, and then up at the images of his younger self kissing Lana._

_A flash of surprise caused those blue eyes to lighten before he looked down at her in shock. "You're remembering."_

Waking up with a jolt, Chloe gasped, wiping at the tears that stained her cheeks. She _hated_ having these dreams! They were so intense she woke up feeling so _horrible_ and yet couldn't remember what she'd dreamt about…

…although…as strange as it seemed…she was almost sure she'd seen _Clark_ in this particular dream.

Shaking her head, realizing that that made no sense, Chloe laid back down and hugged Lex from behind, drifting to sleep, the wind crying outside their window.

She dreamed of Lex and her life together with their son, and how wonderful things would be from now on…

…if only she knew.

* * *

There you go people, here's the next update! Drama in the next chapter! Review?


	10. The Death of Chloe Sullivan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman, or any characters that appear or are mentioned in those series/movies.**

WARNING: DARK CHAPTER, DARK ELEMENTS.

_This chapter, as mentioned above, will be a very dark chapter due to its contents. THIS IS NOT the last chapter, I still have a couple of them to go, and things will be explained in subsequent chapters, just know that elements in this chapter were crucial and needed to happen. Remember that this IS an IN BETWEEN SMALLVILLE/SUPERMAN story, and yet it is STILL AU, so I had to do some things to get certain things I motion. Oh well, just wanted to warn my readers._

* * *

__

Hey baby, didn't want to wake you up because you needed your rest. Just wanted to let you know that Dinah and I went out to do some shopping and get some pickles and ice cream--for some reason I have a craving for both of them and the kitchen staff says we're out of both! Love you my sleepyhead, and TRY have a good breakfast before finishing up your work in the study, okay? You know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

_Love_

_Chloe_

Lex smiled and shook his head as he reread the little note he'd found on her pillow early that morning when he'd woken up. It would seem that time had gone by faster than Chloe and Dinah had anticipated, because it was well after lunch and the two mischievous brunettes had yet to call or show up. Usually Lex would have called by now to make sure that everything was fine, but he didn't want to intrude on the cousins bonding time, plus, this gave him time to once and for all do what he'd needed to do all along--make a decision about 33.1.

Sighing, the heir of LuthorCorp looked at the last folder and closed it. His father could be very persuasive when he wanted to be, and by showing this confident and very _delicate_ information to Lex, Lionel had been showing a trust in his son that he never had before. That alone had Lex conflicted, and while the young Luthor could understand his father's views and even _agree_ with some of what he said, he didn't think he'd ever truly be able to experiment on human beings like this without feeling like a monster.

What about the family of the Meteor Infected? Lionel had tried to use Chloe's and Lex's child as a way to get Lex to join him, but it'd been his downfall because Lex never would have wanted _anyone_ to grab his child and experiment on _him_ if he'd ever become _different._

Sighing, Lex shook his head.

He was going to turn down his father's offer.

Reaching for the phone to call Lionel and tell him just that, it rang the moment he touched it.

Lex frowned, picked up the receiver, and placed it to his ear. "Luthor speaking."

"Mister Luthor." A voice he didn't recognize spoke. "I'm calling from the Smallville Clinic…"

Oh, maybe the doctor wanted have another checkup with Chloe to make sure that the baby was fine?

"There's been an accident."

* * *

"Get your hands off of me!" Dinah Sullivan was going to box the ears off of the next person who made a grab at her and tried to get her to take the damned tranquilizers. She didn't _need_ tranquilizers! What she needed was for the police to do their damned job and for Lex to be here. She needed _Lex_ because _he_ would know what to do!

"Dinah?"

Turning at the horrified voice, Dinah slapped at the nurse who placed her hand on her arm and ignored the deputy placed to shadow her for 'her own protection'. "Lex!"

He was pale, terror written on his face as he arrived by her side. "What happened? Where's Chloe? Are you okay?" His worry was causing his sentences to run one right into the other. "I only heard the nurse say that there'd been an accident and I came right away." His eyes searched the room desperately. "_Where is Chloe_?"

The deputy stepped forwards. "Sir--."

"Oh stand down Detective DIMWIT!" Dinah snapped at him before turning to Lex. "They're looking for her, but I don't trust these small-town hillbillies, Lex, I don't know _what_ that thing was but it wasn't human! No human being could take being run into by a jaguar--_totaling_ the jaguar!--and cause his hands to become _fucking metal blades_!"

Horror crossed Lex's blue eyes. "Dinah, what are you saying?"

"We were _ambushed_!" Dinah swatted at another nurse attempting to give her 'chill pills'. "Leave me the hell alone dammit!" She snapped at the woman before turning to Lex. "We were driving to town when this _guy_ just stepped out in front of us! Chloe stepped on the breaks but it was too close, we ran smack-dab into him." She trembled at the memory. "Thank God we were both using seatbelts." The brunette shook her head. "The next thing I knew Chloe's door was yanked straight off its hinges and thrown away and the guy was _right there_, demanding to know who 'Luthor's whore' was."

Lex was trembling. Anyone who didn't know him would have contributed it to fear, but Dinah could see the _fury_ building behind those usually stoic blue eyes.

"I said it was me, but Chloe wouldn't _shut up_!" Dinah kicked the wall in anger, wincing at the pain that jolted up her injured, bruised, and cut body. "She told him it was her and he believed her. One of his arms turned into this blade and he sliced the seat belt off of her and yanked her out of the car. I tried to get out but he flipped the car with _one_ hand--and the next thing I knew I work up here."

Lex's fists were shaking from the force of his fury. "Don't worry, Dinah, I'm going to find Chloe and I'm going to make sure the fucker that touched her _pays_."

She saw demonic anger in those eyes, saw the promise of torture, and she hardened her heart. "_Good_."

* * *

Out of all of the places her captor could have taken her, it had _had_ to be the Kawatche Caves. It would seem that Chloe's life would always be filled with ironies that she would never fully appreciate or truly understand. The man--the _thing_--whatever he was, flung her to the ground in the inner chambers of the cave, causing her to hit the wall with the painting of Segeet and Numan with a loud _thud_.

Chloe looked at the silent man as he turned his back from her, shoulders slumped, body tense, and realized that there was no way that she was going to get out of this by physical force or by even trying to sneak away. If she was going to live to see another day she was going to have to try to appeal to this person's humanity--if he had any.

"Please don't throw me around so hard." She spoke. "I'm pregnant."

He flinched, as it she'd physically hurt him. "I am sorry."

"That's okay." This was progress. "You didn't know."

"No, you don't get it." He turned to her, face agonized. "I'm sorry for what I'm going to have to do to you."

Fear sliced her heart and she shuffled back further against the wall, wishing she could pass through it and get out of here. "W-wh-what?"

"I _have_ to do this." The man told her, not moving an inch but in a blink of an eye his arm had become a long metal blade. "This is the only choice I have, I'm just sorry that someone innocent is going to have to suffer for the sins of that bastard." He paused, closing his eyes. "_Two_ innocents."

"Who—whose sins?" Chloe stammered, knowing that the longer she kept him talking the more chance there was of them being found and her rescued. "What are you talking about? Who _are_ you?" Her gaze went to his transformed arm. "_What_ are you?"

"A _freak_!" The man hissed, slicing the air with his blade viciously as he said that word. "I used to normal, I _should_ have been normal, but I turned into a _freak_ after the meteor shower! So many of us are, so many of us have had to suffer because of something we didn't want! We went to him because he offered us hope, hope that we and our loved ones could be normal again, he said that he wanted to help us--but he _lied_! He experimented on us and treated us like we were less than _animals!_"

Chloe felt tears welling in her eyes. "_Who_?"

He narrowed his eyes as he looked deep into hers. "_Lionel Luthor_."

Chloe gasped, eyes widening, feeling as if she'd been slapped. "That's a lie!" She screamed a tear skidding down her cheek. "Lionel might be many things, but he's not--he _wouldn't_--!"

"He _did_!" The fingers of his normal hand curled around his shirt and yanked it up, revealing a large, ugly scar that ran up from below his navel up to his collarbone. "He was there _personally_ when they did this to me. Said they wanted to see how my body reacted to pain, what parts of me went numb and which could still feel. They cut and sliced me up like a was any piece of meat." His voice choked. "I was _awake the whole time_!"

Chloe's mouth went to her hand to silence her sob as she surveyed the awful, painful looking and completely deforming scar. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" And she _was_. She was sorry that anyone had had to live through something so horrible, horrified that someone who she'd trusted had been able to do this to another human being.

Lex would be so _horrified_ if he knew what his father was doing!

"_I didn't know_…" Her sorrowful whisper echoed off the walls of the caves.

* * *

Lionel smirked when he saw his son's number on the phone. Apparently everything was going as planned. "I hope this is very important Lex." He growled, putting some annoyance into his voice just to play a little. "I just had to walk out of a very important meeting."

"One of your _freaks_ took Chloe." Lex growled, anger and despair thick in his voice.

Lionel's smirk grew larger. "What the devil are you talking about?" He knew what Lex was talking about because he'd orchestrated the whole thing. Linus had been his first success at a controlled Meteor Freak, and while he was under orders to _not_ hurt Chloe, he'd been told to ruffle her up just a little. Lionel knew that his son hadn't been convinced into joining him on this, and he'd needed to do something that would give Lex a push in the right direction and yet not harm the young woman Lionel cared deeply for and wanted for a daughter-in-law.

"Chloe's been kidnapped, by a Meteor Freak." Lex's voice broke.

"_What?"_ Lionel cleared his voice, placing in the amount of urgency expected without it sounding over the top and thus suspicious. "I'm coming to Smallville _this instance_!" Ending the phone call, Lionel stood, victorious expression on his face.

* * *

The whole town was in an uproar as the news spread like wildfire. Jonathan Kent couldn't feel more useless than now as he watched Lana and Martha crying as Dinah, whom they gone to see at the hospital, confirmed the story that'd been circulating the town. She didn't know exactly what had attacked them, but Jonathan and those with him did. They'd lived in Smallville their whole lives, they'd helped Clark fight the various Meteor Freaks that'd threatened the safety of everyone.

And they knew how much danger that put Chloe in at the moment.

The police had dispatchers combing the area, trying to find her, and Lex had gone out after leaving Dinah in Jonathan's charge, trying to find her himself. The young man was besides himself with desperation, and Jonathan's heart went out for him as once more he was assured of the young Luthor's love for Chloe, which meant that his son's heart wasn't being broken in vain.

Jonathan closed his eyes in frustration, thinking about his son. The boy had chosen a horrible time to disappear. Well, truthfully he'd disappeared last night during the dinner, and hadn't been back yet, and while Martha was worried Jonathan knew where the boy was.

He was in the Fortress, probably having a helluvan argument with Jor-El.

_If only he hadn't taken the key with him I could have gone and let him know what was happening._ Jonathan leaned his forehead against the wall. _If anyone could find and save Chloe--it would be Clark._

If only they'd known how desperate Chloe's situation truly _was_.

* * *

"I was in love once, you know." The man keeping her captive offered the information. "We were together when the meteor shower hit, we were eleven, and just realizing what a boy and a girl could feel for each other."

Chloe hugged herself, crying softly, as she looked up at him. "What happened?"

He sighed and sat down next to her. "She became a freak just like me, but she couldn't do anything hurtful. Everywhere she walked flowers would spring up at her feet."

Chloe managed a small smile at that. "She sounds like a nice person."

"She was." He nodded sadly, lost in his thoughts. "She was beautiful and sweet, wouldn't harm a fly, but she couldn't control her power. Everywhere she walked flowers appeared--in her home, on the street, in a restaurant--so when she heard about Luthor's quest to 'help us' she went to him and I did because she did."

Chloe closed her eyes, feeling the darkness in his voice and knowing that what he was about to say would give her nightmares for the rest of her life--if he didn't kill her right after.

"At first everything was fine, and then when they had our trust it began, and we endured a lot because we trusted that it was for our own good." His voice wavered yet he continued on. "And then when we realized the truth…it was too late. The experiments they did on her didn't cure or control her powers--they made them worse, and when they realized that fauna was taking over they locked her in a contained room for days."

Chloe shivered.

"I heard her screaming for help for days and nights, screaming to be let out, screaming that she couldn't breathe--the fauna had overgrown in the tiny room and it ended up suffocating her."

"Dear _God_." Chloe's eyes flew open in horror.

"When she died, the flowers and plants did as well, and they threw all the evidence into a large incinerator they have at the bottom of the facility."

"I'm so _sorry_…"

"They let her suffocate slowly for _days_…" he turned to her, agony deep in those eyes. "I heard her screaming for help, screaming for _me,_ and I couldn't do anything. _I couldn't save her_."

Chloe cried. She cried for her situation, cried for his pain, and cried for the memory of the terrified woman who'd just wanted to be normal again and had trusted the wrong person.

"So am I. I'm sorry that you had to be the one I used to avenge Colleen." He whispered. "But I will make it quick and painless for you."

She hadn't even grasped the meaning of his words until he'd shifted and something pierced her stomach. A scream of pain erupted from her lips as Chloe placed her hands to her stomach, blinded by her own tears, and felt the metal that had impaled her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered in her ear as he pushed his blade in deeper. "I'm so sorry." And everything went black.

* * *

Lex Luthor looked up from where he'd been angrily talking with his recently arrived father, feeling the agony and pain that exploded inside of his body.

Something horrible had just happened.

"_Chloe_…"

* * *

"WE'VE FOUND HER!" The searcher cried to those behind him, passing by the dead body of the young man whose own blade/arm was piercing his own heart, and hurried towards the still, unconscious body of the young brunette woman.

"THEY FOUND HER!" The others behind him called to those who were searching outside.

He ignored them and got to his knees, pulling off his shirt and pressing it against the wound in her stomach, trying to stall the blood-flow. Pressing his fingers to her neck, he searched for a pulse and grew frantic when not only couldn't he find one, but she felt cold to the touch.

"Please, come on young miss!" He leaned over her and tried to find a heartbeat…and couldn't. The searcher closed his eyes in sadness and leaned back as the others filled the cave room.

"How is she pa?" His son asked, hurrying towards him.

"It's too late." He looked at the fourteen-year-old's eyes. "She's dead."

* * *

In the Fortress, Clark Kent paused in the middle of his violent argument with Jor-El. After leaving the dinner he'd gone to see the AI immediately, venting all of his anger and frustration out on the reason this was happening--on the reason Chloe didn't love him, didn't even remember their friendship, on the reason why Chloe and _Lex Luthor_ were getting married.

His father had been calm despite Clark's ire and disrespect, and had told him that a union between the Luthor clan and Clark's chosen would never take fruit, that when he'd changed destinies some things had been altered, yes, but things not even Clark knew off had happened as well, and that had worried the young Kryptonian.

What _else_ had Jor-EL done?

Pain caused him to double over and fall to his knees. Clark couldn't understand what was happening, he didn't feel pain unless there was Kryptonite involved, and since there was no Kryptonite in the Fortress it made no sense that he felt as if his heart had been torn out of his body.

"_Father_?"

"It is as I thought." The AI sounded satisfied. "You have chosen well, Kal-EL. Our blood has accepted her and it has begun."

* * *

For the first time since Lillian's death, Lionel felt _agony_.

The head of Luthorcorp stood motionless as the doctors explained what they'd already known. Chloe had been dead upon arrival, she'd died alone in that cave, terrified, but they'd said that from the wounds it'd been a quick, nerly painless death.

Lionel closed his eyes and turned his back on everyone, unable to bear the sound of his son's cry of agony, or watch as Dinah Sullivan tried to comfort him despite the fact that she was breaking apart as well at the news.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Chloe wasn't supposed to be hurt! She wasn't supposed to be killed! She was only supposed to be frightened so that Lex would accept that the mutant population was a threat to society and step up as he should have all along! It was _not_ supposed to _happen_ this way!

That traitorous creature Linus had been playing him all along and once Lionel had trusted that he had all of the control, the monster had gone and killed the only innocence that the Luthors had had left--he'd killed their Chloe and the child within her.

Lionel turned and watched in heart-wrenching agony and Dinah and Lex hugged each other, crying desperately.

Those freaks—those _monsters—_were all going to pay.

_Now_ it was personal.

* * *

_All she could feel was numbness. Her vision faded into darkness and her body seemed heavy as if it was being weighed down by something invisible. And then, suddenly, that weight was gone and she found herself standing on firm ground._

_Chloe looked up, saw that she was in a tunnel of sorts and that there were two directions. One was darkness, and at the other side of the tunnel was a warm light. Chloe smiled as she saw the figures of her aunt and uncle waving at her from the side filled with light, and she began taking steps towards them…no…she wasn't walking, she was floating._

_She was floating down the tunnel towards the bright, warm light, towards her smiling aunt and uncle. Everything was going to be alright. She wasn't alone now. She had her family._

_But right before she could reach them the tunnel flashed a neon green, and besides her to her right, the wall of the tunnel opened, revealing a blinding white light, yet this one was cold. She turned towards it and raised her hand to shield her gaze from the brightness of the light, confused, wondering if there were two heavens._

_A male figure was backlit by the cold light. "Mortal…" His voice was deep and familiar, as if she'd heard it before and knew that she could trust it. "You must come with me."_

_"God?" She asked, taking a hesitant step towards the man and the cold._

_"You might say that." There was amusement in his voice. "I am a god of sorts compared to you mortals."_

_Okay, the guy was confusing, but his voice rung in her ears in such a familiar way that she was drawn to him, deafened to her aunt and uncle calling to her to come to them._

_"It is not your time yet, mortal." His outline stretched its hand towards her. "You have a destiny to fulfill."_

_Step…and another…all towards that figure in the cold light, until her hand was in his and suddenly she was out of the tunnel and in what would look like a crystal fortress, the sight so beautiful she couldn't even speak. If this was heaven, it looked nothing like she'd thought, but it was gorgeous just the same. She looked around, realizing that she wasn't cold._

_"Do you remember the last time you were here, mortal?"_

_She looked towards the man and yet couldn't find him anymore, the room was empty and yet his voice echoed off the walls. "Where are you?" She twirled around, trying to find where he hid._

_"You didn't know it at the time, but before you awakened the first time, you were put through a three-fold process."_

_Confusion filled her soul as images of her waking up in a bed in a room of ice and yet warm, filled her. She saw herself talking to an invisible person as she was now, saw herself crying and accepting to do something for _him_, but what? What had she accepted to do? And who was _him?

_"Before you return, you must withstand the second phase."_

_"Return?" Chloe asked. "But I'm dead, aren't I?"_

_"There were some things even I couldn't change, such as your heart."_

_What did that have to do with anything?_

_But before she could demand an answer, there was a flash of light._

* * *

Gasping, Chloe would have sat up but there was a metal roof so close over her head that she was forced to remain lying on her back. She frowned, looking around herself in confusion, realizing that she was lying down on a cold metal slab, in something like a metal box. Not only was it dark and cold, but she was pretty sure that she was naked under the thin sheet over her body.

_Where am I? How did I get here_?

Images of being captured and the feel of a blade piercing her caused Chloe to scream and reach her hands to her stomach, eyes widening when she realized that there was no wound on her stomach. It was flat and felt normal, as if she'd never been stabbed.

"Hello?" Chloe cried out. "HELLO?"

Her breathing began to get uneven as the realization that she was trapped up in there set in.

"HELLO?" She screamed out as hard as she could, hitting the sides of the container she was in, kicking, trying to make noise. "SOMEONE! HELP! PLEASE! HELP ME!"

She knew that panicking would cause her to use up more of the little amount of oxygen she had, but Chloe wasn't thinking rationally at the moment. All she knew was that she was locked up in a tiny container with a limited amount of oxygen, alone in the dark, in only God knew where.

"PLEASE!" She screamed, terror taking over. "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

An odd stench around her made her pause, wondering what exactly it was.

That was when she noticed the bracelet of sorts, and she brought her arm close to her face, trying to read what it said on the tag.

_Sullivan, Chloe_

_Caucasian female_

_Time Of Death:…_

She stopped reading, eyes wide as she realized where exactly she was.

She was in a _morgue_.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Her throat pained her from the force of her scream but she didn't care, she'd gone into a frenzy, screaming and kicking, screaming and kicking, and she was about to go crazy when suddenly the wall behind her feet was pulled open and the tray she was on pulled out.

Chloe took in a deep breath of air and turned to her rescuer, not caring to wonder how he knew she was alive or even there. She forgot the fact that she was naked under that thin sheet and when he reached over and hugged her tightly, pulling her off of the tray and into his arms, she just hugged back, body trembling from the terror she'd faced, burying her face in his shoulder, _crying_.

"Shhhh." Clark Kent whispered into her hair as he held her bridal-style, his muscles tense beneath her. "You're okay now. I have you. I'm never going to let anything happen to you again."

And she cried harder.

* * *

"We have to tell someone that she's alive." Jonathan Kent whispered to Martha as they stood by the door to Clark's room, watching their son sleeping on a chair next to the bed, holding the hand of the young woman sleeping on his bed and looking better as time passed and her skin grew pink, shaking off the pallor of death.

"I know." Martha whispered back, watching the scene longingly. "I just wish we could give them a little more time."

"People will realize her body's missing from the morgue." Jonathan pressed. "They'll think someone stole it, and it will give Lex a heat attack." He paused, stressed to the bone. "We also have to come up with a plausible idea as to why Clark was down at the morgue at that time of the night. We can't say he picked up the sound of her screams and the frantic pounding of her heart by using his super hearing."

Martha nodded. "We'll think of something."

Jonathan sighed, looking back at his son and Chloe. "And it better be something good."

* * *

Hey people! We're getting closer and closer to the end, huh? I wonder if any of you guessed that was going to happen. Review?


	11. The First Step To Their Destiny

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.**

_Hey everyone! I am back with another update to Winds of Change! I'm sorry for all the drama I made you go through during the last chapter, but as I said, I had a rough sketch of everything that had to happen in the story, and Chloe dying and coming back was one of them. Just to let you know, Jor-El really wasn't the one to bring her back, it was actually her meteor ability, something she still has despite the change in the timeline--which I will explain in this chapter!_

_There will be some drama in this chapter too, just wanted to let you know this!_

_Oh well, enjoy!_

_SPOILER FOR "FREAK"._

* * *

Dinah sat still in her bedroom in the Luthor castle, eyes red from the silent tears that ran down her pale cheeks, feeling numb. She hadn't slept the whole night, had listened as Lex destroyed his study after locking himself inside hours ago. Lionel had sat in the living room, a glass of whisky in his hands--a glass of whiskey he never darkness from, just held it as he stared emotionlessly into the darkness around him. Dinah knew that she should call Aunt Moira and Uncle Gabe, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell them that their only child had been killed and she hadn't been able to do a thing to stop it.

There was a knock on her door but she ignored it, ignored whoever it was that opened the door and peeped in on her.

"Ms. Sullivan?" A tiny little maid stuttered. "A Mrs. Kent is on the phone for you—says that it's a matter of life or death that you speak to her."

Dinah looked up and reached for the phone handed to her, ignoring the maid as she rushed out of the room. "Mrs. Kent?" The word was croaked out in a voice that hadn't been used other than to scream at the unfairness of life.

"Dinah dear." Martha's voice was soothing to her. "I need to tell you something and I need you to believe me, despite how hard it may be."

Dinah nodded and then remembered that she was talking on the phone, so Martha couldn't see her. "Okay."

"Deary, Lois, Lois is alive."

Dinah let out a sob, gaze blurring. "How can you play with me like this?" She snapped, voice echoing with the pain she felt inside her. Why would the woman do this to her? Dinah had seen her cousin's dead body before they'd covered it with the sheet and taken her away. She knew that both her cousin and the baby had been killed by that _monster_, why would Martha--.

"I'm not playing tricks with you child, I would never--!"

"She's _dead_! She's--!"

"_Dinah_?"

Dinah froze, hand going to her mouth to silence her scream when she heard her cousin's voice on the other side of the line.

No…no…it _couldn't_ be…

"Dinah?" Chloe's voiced choked. "_Dinah_…"

"_Chloe_?" Dinah squeaked, heart beating desperately in her chest, feeling like it was about to break away from her body. "Baby Cuz, Chlo, is that really _you_?" She closed her eyes, tears escaping and making their way down her cheeks as she prayed to all holy that a miracle had taken place, promised Jesus, Buddha, Mohamed, _ANYONE_ that she'd believe in a superior being if this wasn't the cruel joke of those she'd thought friends--or if she hadn't gone insane.

"_Nani_!" Chloe broke down on the other end of the phone.

Dinah's heart froze as the childhood nickname only her cousin had ever called her escaped the other woman's lips. "_Chloe_." She covered her mouth again as she sobbed, yet this time in happiness as she stood. Her sobs were mixed with hysteric laughter as she hurried to find her shoes. "Where are you, Chlo?" She wiped at her tears. "I'm coming right away!"

"I'm at the Kent's." Chloe whispered. "_Dinah_, _I lost the baby_."

Dinah paused, closed her eyes tightly as tears sprung up once more at the agony in her cousin's voice. _I cannot cry, I can't. I have to be strong for her._ "Babygirl, Lex and I are going to be there as soon as you can blink. I love you."

Cutting off the phone call, Dinah hurried out of the room, not noticing that in her haste she'd put on two different shoes, or that she was wearing her pajamas shorts and an old, faded and discolored T-shirt. She ran towards Lex's study and pounded on the door.

"LEX!" She pounded harder and harder, throwing in a kick here and there, ignoring the pain that rushed up her leg. "_LEX!_ OPEN UP THE DAMNED DOOR!"

"Miss?" The butler announced from behind her.

Dinah twirled around. "Do you have a key to this room? I need to get to Lex imme--."

"Master Lex and Master Lionel both left half an hour ago." The butler interrupted, obviously seeing her distress and wanting to help. "They took all the folders that were in the study with them and left. But Master Lex told me to tell you that they'd be back later tonight or tomorrow morning."

Dinah cursed and punched in numbers in the cordless phone in her hands, putting it to her ear and growling when she realized that Lex had turned off his cellular. She then tried Lionel's cellular and heard it ringing in the living room, realizing that the elder Luthor had left his cellular behind.

"_Dammit_! I need you to keep trying Lex and if you get a hold of him, tell him to call me immediately, it has to do about Chl—Lois." She told the butler, passing him the cordless phone before narrowing her eyes. "Where does Lex keep the keys to the extra cars?"

* * *

Lex Luthor stood in the 33.1 facility that existed in Smallville, Kansas. It had been the first of the facilities that his father had stationed all around the world, and it wasn't half as modernized as his father reassured him the others were, but this was the beginning of the new era, and he'd wanted to see where it all started.

The young heir of Luthorcorp stood next to his father as the man explained to him about the experiments going down in this facility and of the _creatures_ they housed. He looked over the computer files of the patients and their abilities, and his eyes narrowed.

His father had admitted that he'd recognized the dead body of the monster that'd destroyed Lex's life, and that the man had been one of the most dangerous of the creatures--that Lionel himself had had him captured and detained to keep him from harming humanity, but the creature had escaped and obviously had tried to take revenge on them by attacking Chloe.

He'd killed himself because he knew he'd be found and Lionel and Lex's wrath would be hell.

And Lex hated the creature even more for that. Not only had he taken away Chloe from him, but he'd taken away Lex's ability to avenge her cruel death and that of their unborn son.

But he'd make sure that none of the other _monsters_ EVER had the chance to hurt another human being. He'd _sworn_ to destroy each and every one of them, and he would see that mission through.

"Are you ready for your destiny, my son?" Lionel asked, placing a hand on Lex's shoulder.

Lex looked at his father, seeing images of Chloe laughing, dancing, singing, and twirling around with drunken giggles, he saw her looking at him in adoration and telling him that she loved him--and then he saw her dead body lying on the slab in the morgue when he and Dinah had gone to identify the body.

He clenched his fists, finally letting go of the darkness within. "I'm ready."

* * *

Clark watched as the cousins cried and hugged each other desperately. Two things had surprised him silent. One was Dinah's appearance. Her hair was dry and wild, her clothes an utter _mess_, and she was wearing two different colored and styled sneakers. The second was the fact that when she'd seen Chloe she'd cried out _Chloe_ and not _Lois_. That'd confused him, since he'd thought Chloe was named _Lois_ in this reality, and so this new revelation was confusing.

Dinah had held Chloe to her as if afraid that she'd disappear the moment she let go, and Chloe had held on just as strong, both obviously finding strength in each other. Clark wished that he could give Chloe strength, like he used to, but he was beginning to accept the fact that things were different between them now, and if they were ever going to get to the way they were before everything had been messed up, he'd have to work at it very hard.

The good thing was that he'd been raised to work for what he really wanted, and that had always made him appreciate and value it once he did.

Clark winced when Chloe asked for Lex almost immediately after Dinah arrived, but he understood her need for the man. She was with him, she was in love with him, and he _had_ been the father of her child—of the child who'd died within her despite the fact that she herself had resurrected.

He frowned, blindly following his parents as they led Dinah and Chloe to the living room, beginning to answer Dinah's rapid questions about how this could happen. They told her the story they'd come up with about how Clark had gone down to the morgue to see if he could talk to one of the morticians—who was actually a high school acquaintance of his—when he'd heard banging.

The rest, of course, was history, and Dinah nodded, understanding why it was important to keep things hushed and why they needed to get things dealt with before the news of Chloe's body being _stolen_ could circulate.

Clark watched Chloe as she and Dinah on the sofa, Dinah holding her cousin close and Chloe leaning into her, eyes closed, as if hoping that this was all just a horrible nightmare.

When Dinah asked about _how_ Chloe could come back to life and all of that, his mother had asked the question going through Clark's brain.

"Lois, have you ever been to Smallville before?"

Everyone turned to Chloe.

The young brunette pulled away from Dinah and sat up, looking perplexed. "I—I don't—I don't remember—I don't _think _so."

"We did, once." Dinah announced softly, causing everyone to turn and look at her in surprise. "I don't remember it, but before my parents died and I was around ten I asked my mother what was the most frightening experience she'd ever lived through. She said that while Aunt Moira and Uncle Gabe were going through a tough time in their marriage—Lois was two and I was around three at the time—mom and dad took us on a small road trip that led them through _Smallville_."

So she was calling Chloe _Lois_ again.

And yet Clark really couldn't concentrate on this, because he was riveted in the story.

"Mom said that they were traveling in this rented RV when these meteors just _fell from the sky_…"

Clark went pale, as did his mother and father.

Chloe just frowned, looking at Dinah as if she hadn't heard this story before.

"Meteor rocks?" Chloe frowned, placing a hand to her head, as if she'd suddenly had a forehead.

Clark noticed this and leaned forwards in his seat, wondering if she was somehow remembering something.

"There was a meteor shower here that happened when Clark was around three." Martha spoke softly.

Chloe turned to look at Martha, then at Clark, and then at her feet, frowning darker, looking as if in pain.

"That must be the one." Dinah nodded. "Mom says that one of the rocks hit our RV and sent it down into the cornfield. She said that all she could remember was me screaming at the top of my lungs and Chloe being extremely silent." Dinah paused, a sickly pale covering her features before she continued with a deep breath. "The meteor rock must have torn out the side of the vehicle when it hit, because Chloe and I were flung out of the RV while it was rolling downhill."

Martha gasped, hand going to her mouth.

"What happened?" Jonathan asked.

"Mom says that the sky rained the meteor rocks and that they couldn't get out of the RV, that ironically it protected them but it also kept them prisoner." Dinah looked down at her hands. "She said that they could hear me screaming from outside but couldn't see me or Chloe, or get out to help us."

Clark clenched his fists, realizing once again how much his arrival had hurt others.

"When it was finally over they were rescued from the RV by rescue workers, and after some search the, found Chloe and me." Dinah frowned. "She said that we were lying in a bed of meteor pebbles, crouched together, holding hands. I was half-unconscious and half-submerged, but Chloe was completely covered by the remains and wouldn't wake up. The meteor rocks and pebbles were hot and a lot of them had melted onto us, they were sure that we're be deformed for life, and then they realized that Chloe wasn't only unconscious, they couldn't find her pulse and she wasn't breathing." She paused. "They thought Chl-Lois had died."

Martha gasped.

Jonathan frowned.

Chloe closed her eyes, the hands on her head tightening their hold.

Clark's eyes widened.

"Mom was a nurse, she was _sure_ Lois was dead." Dinah announced slowly, turning to look at her cousin as if in sudden revelation. "But half an hour later, as they were in the medical center, filled with the other injured people, the meteor-substance on us just _disappeared_ and Lois started to _cry_."

"My _god_." Jonathan whispered.

"This isn't the first time I've died." Chloe whispered to herself.

"I—I don't understand." Dinah turned to the others. "How is this possible?"

"It's the meteors, dear." Martha sighed, ignoring Jonathan's look. "They had _effects_ on certain people, gave them certain _abilities_--."

"Made them _freaks_." Chloe gasped, shooting up from the sofa, hand to her stomach, breathing rapidly, face horribly pale. "The man, the _thing_, that killed me. I'm—I'm one of _them_, I'm like _him_!"

"No you are _not_!" Dinah growled, shooting to her feet. "You are _nothing_ like the monster that did that to you! You're my baby cousin! You wouldn't hurt a fly! And dammit, even if you _are_ 'gifted' I'm damned glad you are!"

"How can you say that?" Chloe screamed at her, breaking apart right in front of them and Clark clenched his fists because he couldn't collect her in his arms and hold her tight.

"Because I'd have lost you if you weren't!" Dinah hissed, tears building in her eyes. She looked like she hated letting others see her cry, see her weakness, but the stress and sadness was just too overwhelming. "You're my only friend. You're my only family. How could I survive without you?" She looked away, face twisting in an effort to keep from crying. "I love you _Chlo_!"

Clark noticed that once more Dinah had slipped up and called 'Lois' CHLOE.

"I love you too, Di." Chloe whispered as the cousins embraced once more, crying.

* * *

Dinah got off of the phone with the hospital, and sighed. It'd taken a lot of bribing and use of Luthor money, but she was sure that Lex, once he realized what had happened—that he wouldn't be angry with her. She'd done what had had to be done to keep Chloe's death out of the news, and the hospital were now saying that Lois Lane _hadn't_ died, but that she'd been in a _coma_ and had come out of it and had recuperated rapidly and been released to her family and friends.

It'd taken a _lot _of hush-money, but it was done, and that was all that Dinah cared about.

She went to Clark's room, paused at the door, and watched as the young man sat next to the bed, watching her cousin silently as Chloe slept in his bed, wearing his jersey. There was something in Clark's eyes that Dinah just couldn't understand, but couldn't hate him for.

If it hadn't been for him, Chloe would have suffocated in the morgue, and Dinah wouldn't have gotten her cousin back.

There was no way she could hate him anymore.

It didn't mean that she'd changed sides, no way, she was still completely TEAM LEX, but that didn't mean that she had to _hate_ the competition anymore.

"Smallville," she whispered, causing him to look at her in surprise. "Come here a minute."

Clark nodded and stood up from the chair, giving Chloe a last look before exiting the room and closing the door behind him. "Yeah?"

"Now listen to me Smallville, and listen to me good." Dinah took in a deep breath. "I don't do apologies good, but I'm going to give you one because you didn't deserve me cutting into you the way I did."

Clark blinked at her in surprise.

"Sure, I don't like the fact that you like my cousin, but that's nothing personal." She admitted. "It's just that Lex has always been in our lives and I don't like the thought that he has serious competition. I don't want him being replaced. He loves Lois and she loves him."

He nodded silently, his gaze telling her to continue.

"But if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have my little cousin back with me, and I'll never be able to thank you for that." She stuck out her hand. "So, let's call a truce?"

He looked down at her hand and then smiled, shaking it. "Truce."

"Good." She then pulled her hand from his and slapped his shoulder. "Now out of the way, big guy, I'm going to go spend time with my cousin!"

She matched his grin as she walked passed him and entered the room.

* * *

_Lex watched in confusion as he looked around the laboratory. Why was he here? This looked a lot like 33.1 but he didn't recognize the room, maybe he'd wandered into it unknowingly while his father was out?_

_The young man frowned as he turned when he heard something, eyes widening in horror when he saw Chloe strapped down to a large examination table, unable to move. Her eyes darted back and forth at the doctors hovering over and around her, and her mouth was held open as if in a perpetual scream by metal objects._

_Her expression conveyed her terror._

_Lex stumbled forwards. "What are you doing? Let go of her!" They didn't listen to him, didn't even act as if they'd heard him. "Let her go! Don't touch her!"_

_When they continued to ignore him, Lex hurried forth to push them away and his eyes widened as he sailed right __**through**__ them._

_"Blood iron levels?" One of the doctors asked._

_"225." Another read from the screen._

_"Copper, cadmium, and chloride all high." A third announced._

_"The clock is ticking." The first doctor announced in a business-like manner. "Let's not waste time."_

_"Erythrocyte and leukocyte counts confirmed." The third doctor announced. "Initializing full-body spectral scan."_

_Lex watched in horror as a green beam scanned up and down her naked body, centering finally on her abdomen._

_Chloe made a sound of slight pain._

_Lex tried to hold her hand, tried to offer her some support, some comfort, tried to do something to ease the pain and fear in her green eyes, but his hand went right through hers and he looked away in impotence._

_"Scanning in progress." The second doctor spoke in excitement. "Vertical asymptote at "X". Preparing for DNA extraction."_

_"Proceed." The first doctor ordered._

_Lex turned towards her, not liking the sound of that, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the third doctor appear with a large needle._

_No…no…they wouldn't--._

_The doctor inserted the needle into her abdomen and Chloe screamed._

_Lex clenched his fists and turned, unable to see what he couldn't stop, and right when he was about to close his eyes and bring his hands to his ears to try and drown out the sound of her screams, movement from above caught his attention and he looked up, eyes widening in horror at what he saw._

_There, standing above and watching the proceedings with cool indifference, was __**himself**_.

--

Gasping, Lex jolted awake in the cafeteria of the 33.1 facility. He looked around him rapidly, expecting to find Chloe still strapped down and being tortured, but thankfully it'd all been a horrible nightmare.

_Chloe_…

Covering his face with his hands, Lex cried.

* * *

_Chloe sat at her desk in the basement of the Daily Planet, numb, hardly noticing Clark until he sat down next to her, looking at her with a such a worried, caring expression that it was all she could do to keep the tears at bay._

_"You look dazed and confused." Clark said softly, leaning closer towards her. "Are you okay?"_

_"I can't sleep." It was hard to believe that that distraught voice was hers. "I can't work. I can't think about anything else."_

_"You've been through a lot." Clark whispered, eyes pained, as if he could feel the agony and despair in her and it hurt him that he couldn't do anything to get rid of it._

_"There's a reason they took me, and we both know that it's not because I'm a witness." Chloe met his gaze with teary determination. She needed him to finally admit to himself what she'd finally admitted to herself, no matter __**how**__ painful. "Tobias didn't identify you, Clark, because you're not a Meteor Freak." She gulped, looking away. "It was me."_

_"Chloe, it must have been a mistake."_

_But she could hear the desperation in his voice, could hear that he was denying to himself that his best friend and sidekick was one of the people he'd fought against since high school._

_"How do you know that?" She snapped at him, needing him to accept this. "I mean, I've been exposed to more Kryptonite than practically anyone in this town. It's not that much of a stretch to think that I could have been infected somewhere along the way."_

_"But you don't have any powers." He paused and looked at her intently. "Do you?"_

_"No, but that doesn't rule me out." She laughed but it was a despaired sound. "There's a percentage of the Wall of Weird that were latent for years. They didn't exhibit any of their powers until long after their exposure."_

_"Okay. All right, let's say it's true." Clark nodded, taking in a deep breath. "But who's to say that you're ever going to develop your powers?"_

_She tore her gaze from his and looked down at her desk. "All I know is that every single meteor freak that I've ever run into have ended up either dead or in Belle Reeve." She closed her eyes, tears escaping despite her attempt to keep them back, racing down her pale cheeks. "Face it, Clark. I'm a walking time-bomb."_

_The feel of Clark's hand on her arm gently caused her to open her tear-filled eyes and meet his once more, realizing that there were tears in his as well, but behind the sadness was sheer determination._

_He smiled softly at her, bringing his other hand to tenderly brush away at her tears. "Then consider me your personal bomb squad."_

--

Jolting up into a sitting position, Chloe breathed in rapidly and felt disoriented. Where was she? What was she doing? A movement next to her on the bed caused her to turn, and she noticed Dinah mumbling in her sleep, hugging a pillow to her heart.

Shaking her head, Chloe brought her hand to her face and touched her wet cheek. She'd had one of those dreams she couldn't remember.

Hearing _another_ moan, this time to her right, she turned her head and blinked when she saw Clark Kent asleep in an uncomfortable-looking position on a chair. He'd obviously been watching over her while she slept.

And obviously, Lex wasn't there.

He hadn't come for her.

Chloe's eyes filled with tears as she hugged herself, hating herself for crying so much, but the grief was too much to bare. Not only had she realized that she was some sort of monster, but she'd lost her baby and Lex wasn't even there to be with her. Had he come, been told what she was, and left? Did she disgust him as much as she disgusted herself?

_Dear God, please, no!_

She was all alone, and the desperation kept welling inside of her, threatening to cause her to explode.

_Then consider me your personal bomb squad._

Chloe's eyes suddenly widened as Clark Kent's voice whispered those words to her, and the dreams she'd been having blindsided her in rapid procession. She scuffled against the bed's head and turned to look at Clark again with wide-eyes, realizing that all those odd dreams she'd been having in Metropolis—those dreams she'd been having all of her life—had been about _Clark_.

She was frightened, confused.

"Who _are_ you, Clark Kent?" She whispered, looking at his peace-filled face.

Clark smiled in his sleep at the sound of her voice, shifting slightly in the chair to try and get more comfortable. "_Chloe_…"

Chloe's eyes widened. How did he know her real name?!

Did…did he dream about her like she'd dreamt of him her whole life?

Did he even realize he dreamt about her or did he forget the dreams like she used to every time she awoke?

Watching the young man as he slept, Chloe hugged her pillow to her heart and cried.

* * *

Hey everyone! I updated two days before I'd planned on updating, but I don't think you're complaining, right? laughs Review?


	12. Unexpected Danger

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman, or any characters that appear or are mentioned in those series/movies.**

_Hey everyone! I'm back with the next chappie to Winds of Change, and this chapter brings about the chlex reunion, and answers the question as to HOW Lex is going to react to discovering the 'truth' about Chloe's situation! For some reason this chapter was really hard for me to write! I had HORRIBLE writer's block despite the fact that I knew what needed to happen! It was so ANNOYING that it gave me a headache and made things even harder for me! __**Growls**__…_

_That said, I'm somewhat sad now that this story is ending (approx. four more chapters to go), but I'll have the new Chloe story I'm writing "The Cave" to keep me occupied once this is over (shameless fic-pimpin' going on here!). Oh well, enjoy!_

Mentions the chlark kiss during Dark Thursday.

* * *

When Lionel and Lex arrived at the Luthor castle around one o'clock the next morning, he was surprised to see the butler awake and waiting to talk to Lex, looking nervous and anxious, but the older Luthor really didn't care about whatever could trouble the help. He walked to his room and went to the bathroom, running the water in the sink and washing his face, the images of Lex at the Smallville 33.1 facility burnt in the back of his eyes.

He'd seen his son take the first step into becoming his right hand, into becoming the strong man who didn't allow things like _pity_ and misguided _compassion_ to keep him from doing what he must to ensure the protection of mankind against the creatures the meteor rocks had made an alarming amount of the people they'd infected. And for the first time, Lionel could say that he was truly proud of his son, he just wished that Chloe's life hadn't had to be sacrificed to bring this about.

But he'd finally brought his son into the fold, and he knew that Lex was deep down inside, just like him, and that now that he knew of the truth, had seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't be able to step back and pretend that this wasn't happening or that the world wasn't infested by these creatures, who could try to take over if they weren't contained and neutralized.

Failure made this victory bitter. Lionel had failed to keep Chloe and the Luthor heir safe. He'd grown over-confident in his ability to control experiment #998279, but now he knew that the serum wasn't as strong as he'd been led to believe--or the creatures were beginning to adapt, grow immune to it. He'd talked to his scientists and ordered them to double the dosage of the mind-controlling serum, silencing their fears of the dosage causing the patients to go into cardiac arrest. If the creatures were dead then it'd be easier to examine their remains without them screaming and trying to escape as they cut them open…as how procedures were being done now due to the fact that anesthesia seemed to for some reason lessen the strength of their power….but if one worked with the body right after death…

Lionel looked up when he heard Lex's car speeding out of the parking, and he frowned, wondering where Lex could be going at this ungodly hour of the morning.

* * *

(A little before)

Clark awoke sore, and for a moment he couldn't figure out _why_, and then his gaze landed on a sleeping Chloe and Dinah. The young man sighed and leaned forwards in the chair he'd fallen asleep in while watching over them, and kept his blue eyes on the female closest to him. There were tear skid marks down her cheeks, proving that she'd been awake not too long ago and that she'd been crying, and Clark closed his eyes, sighing, looking away. It killed him that he could no longer offer the sort of comfort he used to, and it also killed him because he knew that Lex Luthor had taken that place in her life.

Running his hands over his face, Clark bowed his head and couldn't help but wonder if this was 'karma' at work, wondered if this was what Chloe had felt whenever she'd thought of him and Lana together in the other timeline. He felt like such an idiot for going to her for counseling for every little problem he'd had with Lana, even their _sexual_ problems. He'd been such an inconsiderate _fool!_ Had it torn at Chloe to think of him and Lana sharing a bed, as it did _him_ to think of Chloe and _Lex_ sleeping together, having conceived a _child_ together--_loved_ each other?

Had every time she'd given him a brave smile, taken in a deep breath, and given him advice like any best friend would--had she died little and little inside as he was now that he was seeing Chloe drifting further and further away from him? He remembered the look on her face when he'd told her that he'd asked Lana to marry him, both times she'd looked like she'd been kicked in the gut, and then she'd masked the look with curiosity and mere shock, asking how Lana had responded, and then Clark compared that to the way bile had risen in his throat when he'd watched Lex go down on one knee.

Groaning, Clark stood and sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at Chloe's face, sadness etched in her every feature even in sleep. The Kryptonian reached over and ran his fingers down her cheek, softly pulling away a brown strand of hair from her face. His heart broke for her, broke for himself, broke because of the pain _everyone_ was going through right now, even _Lex_, despite _how_ much he hated the other man for the darkness he _knew_ was in him, Lex loved Chloe, and Clark knew the agony the loss of Chloe could make one feel, and he couldn't help but feel bad because he knew how Lex must be feeling right now.

Dinah's cellular began to ring, and the brunette groaned, waking up. Not wanting to be caught there, Clark superspeeded out of the room before she could open her eyes, not stopping once he was out of the room and out of the farmhouse. He let his feet take him through cities, states, countries and continents until suddenly he was inside of the Fortress, looking at the face of Jor-EL, who'd seemed to be waiting on him.

"Why?" He wasn't even sure what he was asking.

The AI watched him solemnly. "It had to be done."

What had had to be done? The timeline had had to be changed? Chloe's memories of him had had to be erased? Lex and Chloe had had to get together? She'd had to lose the baby and be killed? She'd had to still become a meteor freak? Clark'd had to suffer for all the heartache he'd selfishly given her during the other timeline?

"During the years she knew you and was by your side, your mortal Chosen has proven herself more than a worthy mate for you, my son." Jor-EL was silent for a moment as he surveyed Clark. "Did you truly believe that you wouldn't have to do so as well?"

Clark straightened, eyes narrowing as he looked at the AI, realizing that he was finally going to be getting some answers from him. "What are you talking about?"

"Our House has found her worthy to bare the name of EL, yet it shames me to say that it finds you wanting." Jor-EL responded with a disappointed shake of his head. "Even when her altering process has ended, union between our house and hers will be unable to take place unless you prove _yourself_ worthy to be _her_ Chosen. That is the way of our people."

Clark felt blown away as the image of his father spoke. "What are you saying? I've saved Chloe more than anyone else! I--."

"Broke her heart multiple times, caused hurt and suffering every time you overlooked your true mate for the human pet you refused to let go of although it was clear from the start that your destinies had never been joined." Jor-EL interrupted, voice stern, expression determined. "You brought shame not only on the House of EL and that of the mortal House of Kent, but you also brought it upon the House of Sullivan by the way you treated the daughter of that house, brought shame on your true Chosen, and for this there must be penance and a time of probation."

Clark sat down on the cold floor, head spinning with this new information.

"A Life Mate, a Chosen, it is _not_ a thing to be taken lightly, Kal-EL, it is a privilege, and when abused that privilege can, and will, be taken from you and given to one more worthy of her than you."

Clark looked up, horror crossing his eyes. No, _no!_ His father wouldn't--!

"You must prove yourself worthy to have the privilege returned to you, my son." Jor-EL informed him, the expression in the AI's eyes telling him how important this was.

"You're telling me that if I don't prove myself worthy of Chloe, she'll be given to Lex?" Clark asked, unable to believe how archaic this was. Chloe was a modern woman, very independent, and he knew that she would resent any control over her actions--and how would Jor-EL be able to control her choices anyway?

"Unlike you, the son of the House of Luthor has shown himself worthy of being the Chosen of your mortal, but while she has chosen him, that union is doomed to perish. He is of darkness and she is of light, and while shadows merge together for a time, they fade away and do not belong one with the other." Jor-EL looked away. "Your Chosen is being modified to be as closely Kryptonian biologically as humanly possible so she may physically ready when the transition ends and the joining of the Houses of EL and Sullivan can take place."

Clark gasped in horror. "I won't let you put a finger on--."

"She will not have the powers we possess under the Earth's yellow sun, but her body will be stronger, and if you prove yourself to be a worthy mate, and she accepts you as her Chosen despite your past discrepancies, she will be able to carry your child to term and not die at the birth."

Clark froze. "What are you saying? If I'd stayed with Lana in the past timeline she would never have been able to have children?"

"No." Jor-EL made a face at the thought. "Remember, my son, that while we look outwardly like earthlings, we are of a different species. Certain _modifications_ had to be made, and once your Chosen is subjected to the last process, she will be compatible fertility-wise with our kind."

He clenched his fists. "I don't care about children--you won't do anything else to Chloe. She's gone through enough already!"

"Whether she submits herself to the third process will be her decision." His father announced cryptically, his image wavering and he seemed in slight pain before he turned his gaze on Clark. "It is time for you to begin your trial, Kal-EL."

"What do you mean?" Clark asked.

"It is time to prove to the Houses that you can protect your Chosen."

* * *

"How is this possible?" Lex Luthor's voice broke as he stood in the doorway of Clark Kent's bedroom, looking at the sleeping figure of Chloe Sullivan, also known as Lois Lane, as she mumbled something in her sleep and turned in the bed, hugging a pillow to her heart and smiling serenely.

Dinah gulped back the desire to cry as she saw the agony in his eyes. She'd cried enough, there would be no more of that. When Lex had called her phone at one in the morning after finally arriving at the castle, she'd told him straight out that Chloe was alive. He'd been furious at first, unable to believe what she told him, and then he'd paused, hung up on her, and the next thing Dinah had known she'd heard frantic knocking from the Kent's front door.

Clark had disappeared long before Lex's call had awaken her, and Dinah really didn't want to awaken the Kents, who'd been wonderful to them, so she'd gone and opened the door, not surprised to see Lex standing there in the darkness, a haggard, nearly desperate look in his eyes. She hadn't even said hello, they hadn't exchanged one word, she'd just motioned for him to be quiet and follow her.

And that was how they'd reached Clark's bedroom and were watching as Chloe once more turned in the bed and pushed the pillow away from her, causing it to fall on the ground with a soft thud.

Dinah turned to look at Lex and realized he was trembling. "_Lex_?"

"Is she really there?" He whispered, broken, unable to tear his gaze from the sleeping woman.

Dinah nodded.

"_How_?" Lex croaked out. "How is it possible? She was dead, Dinah, you and I both saw her--saw the wound in her stomach--saw her in the morgue, dead and pale and--."

"She's alive now, Lex," Dinah whispered softly, knowing that it was Chloe's call whether to tell the billionaire the details or not. "That's all that matters."

"Yes. It is." He whispered, gaze resting longingly on Chloe like a man denied water and now allowed to stand near a river and told to drink his fill. Lex suddenly paused and finally tore his gaze from his beloved and turned to look at Dinah. "The baby…?"

She hated to be the one to bare the news, but she shook her head and saw something die inside of him. "I'm so sorry, Lex."

He closed his eyes before taking in a deep breath and opening them again, running his hand through his auburn locks. "It doesn't matter--it doesn't--she's here, she's alive." Lex walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching for Chloe but hesitating before his hand could come down on hers, as if frightened that when he touched her she'd fade away.

Dinah knew that this was a private moment, but she couldn't pull herself away from the sight of Lex Luthor, hesitating for the first time in his life, fear an open emotion playing visibly in every feature of his face as he reached for Chloe only to pull back, doing this time and time again until she shifted towards him in his sleep, her hand brushing his and she complained softly, grumbling in her sleep and curling up on her side in the fetal position.

Lex froze, looking at the hand she'd touched, as if finally allowing himself to believe that she wasn't a ghost, wasn't a figment of his grieved imagination. Dinah knew the moment he finally allowed himself to hope, to believe, it was the moment he gathered Chloe's sleeping body in his arms, buried his face in the curve of her neck, and broke down into tears.

Somehow, Dinah found the strength to back out of the room and give them the privacy they needed. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and looked up at the ceiling and wiped at a stray tear, a small smile touching her lips.

* * *

Lana Lang groaned, turning in bed as the telephone rang. This was why she'd fought Pete teeth and nails on installing the phone in the apartment they lived in above the Talon, but her fiancé had insisted that it was necessary to have the phone by the bedside table, and that when they lived in a place frequently hit by natural disasters and _unnatural_ disasters, their being able to be warned on time was essential to their survival.

Honestly, Lana didn't know how she was supposed to get up early each morning to open the shop if she didn't get a good night's sleep…not that she was _complaining_ about the little _extra activities_ Pete and her had been entertaining themselves with until late last night, inaugurating the new bed they'd bought since the last one had _collapsed_ under them a couple of nights ago thanks to their rigorous 'nightly rituals', but this was ridiculous. She needed her sleep!

"Tell them to bugger off." Lana mumbled sleepily into her pillow, curling it around her head to try and mute the loud, annoying ring of the old-fashioned phone she'd bought because she'd thought it was so cute and _retro_, but at the time it was anything but _cute_ and Lana was suddenly understanding those women she'd seen in movies pounding the telephone to death with their high heels.

"Whoever this is, it better be good." Pete's sleepy voice groaned into the receiver. "Ron? Jesus, it's two in the morning, what the hell do you have to say that--_what_?" He jolted up into a sitting position in the bed. "When--? How much time do we have?"

Lana forced her eyes open and turned towards Pete, frowning when she realized how pale he was. "Baby? What's wrong?"

"Thanks Ron." Pete shot out of the bed, hurrying to pull on a shit and pants. "Babe, call your aunt Nell and tell her to get into her storm cellar _now_!"

All sleep gone in seconds, Lana reached over and grabbed the discarded phone, dialing her aunt's number by heart, placing the receiver to her ear, panic rising in her throat. "What is it? What's going on? Is it a tornado warning?" Ron was Pete's friend who worked at the weather station so it would make sense.

"No," Pete quickly grabbed his cellular to call his parents. "Another meteor shower is about to hit Smallville."

The phone fell from Lana's fingers as her eyes widened, images of the last meteor shower, of seeing her parents being killed right before her eyes, flashed through her mind. "_Dear God. We have to warn the Kents."_

* * *

Chloe awoke because she was wet, uncomfortable, and suffocating.

Eyes flying open, Chloe gasped as she realized that someone was sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging her to him, and _crying_. For a moment she was disoriented and a little scared, but then the familiar and soothing scent of his skin teased her nostrils and she closed her eyes, throwing her arms around him. "Lex!"

"_Chloe_…" His voice was anguished as he squeezed her harder against him, crying uncontrollably into her hair. "_Chloe…Chloe…"_

She didn't know when he'd arrived, or even what time in the morning it was, but all she knew was that she was alone in the room with Lex and that he was hugging her. He wasn't disgusted with her, he wasn't rejecting her, he was _embracing_ her, and he was all she needed.

"_Don't ever leave me again_." Lex pleaded against her hair, his voice desperate. "_Please! I thought I'd lost you!_"

She tried to soothe him, but his words broke the control she'd been keeping on her tears, and they fell like rain as she clung to him as if for dear life. "We lost the baby." She whispered in defeat. "I'm so sorry, Lex, I knew how much you wanted a child, I--."

Lex pulled away, his face agonized as his blue eyes searched her green ones. "Chloe, I thought I'd lost you. We can have other children, but I can't live with you." His hand rose reverently to cup her cheek, running his thumb softly against her skin. "I don't know _how_ this happened, and I don't why, but I don't give a damn. As long as you're alive and with me I don't care how."

Chloe froze, tensing in his hand. They hadn't told him. They hadn't told Lex that she was one of those creatures. No _wonder_ he wasn't treating her any differently!

"When my father and I got back to the castle Henry told me about Dinah's message and I got frantic. I didn't understand what was going on, and then I called her and she said you were alive." His eyes searched her face, his voice breaking slightly with emotion. "I couldn't believe her at first, and if it had been anyone but Dinah I would never have believed it, but I came immediately and found you in bed, _asleep_." He chuckled, his voice hoarse from having cried. "You always _were_ fond of _Sleeping Beauty_."

"Lex…" Chloe pulled away from his touch, hating herself for the hurt expression that crossed his eyes, but she needed to put some distance between them, she wouldn't be able to stand it if he pulled away from her in disgust once she told him everything. "I died, Lex."

They both ignored the sound of a telephone ringing incessantly somewhere inside of the house.

"I know." His voice grew hoarser. "And it's a miracle--."

"_No_, you _don't_ get it!" She got out of bed and began to pace the room, nervous, glad that Dinah and Clark had let her and Lex have the privacy they'd need to have this conversation. "Lex, it wasn't a miracle that I'm here in front of you, it's _not_! The reason I'm alive again is because of _meteor rocks_." She went to look out of the window, hugging herself. "I didn't realize it at the time, but it isn't the first time I've died--apparently it first happened here in Smallville, when I was two years old." She turned to look at him, voice cracking. "I died in a cornfield during a meteor shower."

He was frozen, looking at her in shock. "I don't--I don't understand."

"I'm a _meteor freak_, Lex! _How else do you want me to put it?!_" Chloe shrieked, throwing her hands into the air, tears leaving ugly trails down her pale cheeks. "I'm a monster just like the creature that killed me and our baby! I'm abnormal! I'm a _freak_! I--!" Was being hugged.

"_Chloe_, don't _say_ that!" His voice was fierce as he held her closely against him, resting the side of his face against her head. "You are _nothing_ like that _monster_ that tried to take you away from me!"

"_Lex?_" She whispered, trying to pull away, needing to look in his eyes and see the truth there, needing to know that he truly felt what he was saying. She needed to know that he truly loved her, despite what she was, but he wouldn't let go of her, holding her tightly against him, his heart racing desperately against her cheek.

Suddenly the door flew open and Dinah appeared, eyes wide, face pale. "Get away from the windows!"

"What?" Chloe asked and turned to her cousin in confusion, screaming when suddenly there was an explosion of light outside of the window and the world shook. The young woman pushed away from Lex and turned to look out of the window in time to see a large, flaming ball fall from the sky and smash the Kent's barn, causing another explosion to light up the sky and pieces of meteorite to fly in the air. "_No_."

"Hurry!" Jonathan Kent's voice could be heard as the sound of rapid footsteps rushed passed the room. "We have to get to the storm cellar!"

The sound of glass exploding from the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Kent's room caused the women to scream, and Lex grabbed Chloe's hands, pulling her after him as they hurried behind Jonathan and Martha, who were leading the way down the stairs, Dinah hot on their tail.

"Where's Shelby?" Martha asked frantically, looking around for the family's golden retriever. "_Shelby!_"

"He'll be fine, Martha!" Jonathan pulled his wife rapidly behind him towards the kitchen.

"But--But!" Martha kept tugging on her husband's hand as the sky seemed to fall all around them, the sound of glass breaking upstairs proving that they were getting battered by smaller meteors…but that didn't mean that they wouldn't be hit by something larger anytime soon. "_Shelby!_"

"Where's Clark?" Chloe asked, realizing that he wasn't with them.

"He'll be fine too." Jonathan Kent announce cryptically as he flung open the door and turning his back on the entrance as a small meteor fell and exploded right in front of him.

"Jonathan!" Martha cried.

"Mr. Kent!" Dinah gasped.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Jonathan reassured his wife as she hugged him desperately. His gaze met Lex's and he motioned the man over. "That is the entrance to the storm cellar over there, we have to get to it before the _real_ shower begins."

Lex nodded his agreement.

"_Real shower_?" Dinah squeaked. "You mean it's going to get worse than this?"

Chloe had remained back, hearing the sound of something whimpering. She frowned, following the sound and going away from the group, bending to her knee, finding the golden retriever hiding under the table. "Shelby."

"NOW!" Jonathan Kent cried, and darted out of the door with his wife and Dinah following behind.

"_Chloe_!" Lex turned when he realized she wasn't there with him. "Come on! We have to go!"

"Come on Shelby…" Chloe tried coaxing the terrified dog. "Come on! We have to get out of here!"

"Leave the dog!" Lex ordered from the doorway. "Chloe! We have to go now!"

"I'm not leaving him! Hold on a second!" She snapped before returning her attention to the dog. "Come on buddy, we can't stay here!"

Shelby whimpered and cowered further against the wall and further away from her.

"_CHLOE! LEX!_" Dinah could be heard screaming from outside as there was a loud crash somewhere in the front part of the house. "_GET OUT OF THERE!_"

"_Get IN, Dinah!_" Jonathan Kent ordered.

"_YOU get in!"_ Dinah could be heard snapping. "_Dammit_!"

"Come _on_ Shelby!" Chloe went down on both knees and tried to coax the stubborn old dog out. She had to admit that by focusing her attention on Shelby and getting him out to safety with them, she was managing to keep the hysteria at bay. "We're going to go to the storm cellar with the others and we'll be safe."

"_Dinah_!" Lex growled as suddenly the woman flew into the doorway, bruised, with her arms slightly burnt, obviously having been hit by some of the smaller falling meteorites. "Why the _hell_ did you come back?"

"Because my family is still in this house." She told him, face frightened but determined, before she hurried to Chloe's side and looked under the large, strong oak table and realizing _what_ had kept her cousin from leaving the house. "Shelby…why am I not surprised?" She mumbled to herself. "You difficult old dog! Get your butt out of there!"

"Just leave the dog!" Lex ordered from the doorway. "It's his problem he has a death wish! We have to go! _Now!_"

The dog laid down and closed his eyes with a terrified whimper.

"Good work you two." Chloe growled. "You frightened him."

"Damned sensitive dog." Dinah muttered as she crawled halfway under the table and shuffled towards the animal, grabbing his paw and trying to pull him out, but Shelby jerked his paw from her grasp and folded them under him. "Shelby, now is _not_ the time to play hard to get! We need to get out of here!"

"_It's too late_."

Chloe froze and looked back at Lex as those words. "What?"

"Get under the table." Lex's back to them, his gaze up at the sky, his stance tense. "_Get under the table now!_" He turned towards them and rushed by Chloe's side, leaving the doorway bare and allowing the girls to see the large ball of molten fire hurtling towards them at a heart-stopping speed.

"_Oh my God_!" Dinah screamed, shuffling down under the table. "_Move over Shelby_!" She pressed herself against the wall and when the golden retriever sat up and pressed against her, as if seeking reassurance, she hugged him to her, closing her eyes tightly and hiding her face in his fur.

Chloe's heart thudded painfully in her chest as Lex shoved her under the table and crawled in after her until they were huddling pressed against Dinah and Shelby. The cousins reached for each other's hand and held tight, squeezing. They could feel the intense heat of the approaching ball of fire, and Chloe closed her eyes tightly, sending prayers to all the holy beings known and unknown to somehow protect them.

The last thing she felt before the large meteor hit, causing the world to turn upside down and her body to burn and pain like nothing she'd ever felt before--was Lex's arms going around her protectively from behind, and his shifting so that he was shielding her body with his.

* * *

"It's stuck." Jonathan Kent sighed as he walked down the stairs after trying for the hundredth time to open the storm cellar's doors and get out. The meteor shower had stopped and all was silent, which didn't bode with them well. The Kents weren't worried about themselves, even if they _were_ buried alive they knew that Clark would soon find and free them, but the fact that they couldn't hear anything from above--not even screaming--it worried them.

The last thing they'd seen before Jonathan had closed the storm cellar's doors and hurried them down the stairs was a large meteor hurling towards the section of the house where Dinah, Chloe and Lex were in, and then there'd been a loud explosion that'd shaken the earth. After that the explosions had been smaller and soon ended, leaving them with the horrible silence.

"Do you think they're okay?" Martha whispered, looking up at her husband in fear.

Jonathan turned away from his wife and sighed, unwilling to let her see the doubt and pain in his eyes lest she realize what he believed had happened to the young adults who'd lingered in the house. "I don't know, Martha, I just don't know."

* * *

Groaning, Chloe opened her eyes and felt as if she'd been run over by a Mack Truck. She coughed, dust and other unidentifiable particles shooting out of her mouth and she took in greedy gulps of air, feeling extremely weak and yet invigorated, feeling an odd burn in her hands…the hands she'd been grabbing Dinah and Lex with.

_Dinah and Lex…_

Jolting up in pain, Chloe pushed away the planks of broken wood that'd collapsed over them, and her eyes widened when she realized that they were sitting in the middle of a huge crater, the Kent house completely destroyed, and yet she was wasn't even bruised.

The sound of whimpering caused her to turn to her right and quickly tear away at the wood, and the sound of scratching on the other side proved that Shelby was conscious as well, trying to help her as she finally tore away the heavy plank of oak away and the pile gave way, freeing Shelby as the golden retriever dashed out and licked her cheeks in gratitude, wagging his tail, and showing an unconscious Dinah.

"_Dinah_?" Chloe whimpered, pulling her cousin from under the wreckage and closing her eyes in relief when she immediately found a strong pulse in her neck. She'd only been knocked out.

Chloe then frowned when she realized that Dinah was only bruised as well…and that her hand had the burnt impression of _Chloe's hand_.

Chloe's eyes widened and she looked down at her hands in horror, unable to understand what was going on.

Something red flew passed her in the wind, and Chloe paled when she recognized it to be a patch of Lex's _hair_. "Lex?" She cried, looking around and was unable to find him. He'd been shielding her with his body when the explosion had happened so he would have gotten hit the hardest. "_LEX_!" She screamed, getting desperate as she saw another patch of his hair blowing in the wind.

Hearing Shelby whimpering and scratching at wood, Chloe turned and hurried over the wreckage, going to the section where the dog was and yanking off a piece of broken wood off and crying out when she saw a hand protruding from within, proving that Lex was buried under the pile of debris.

"Don't worry, Lex, I'm here." Along with Shelby, Chloe dug through the mess, tugging and pushing the debris free until it crumbled off, revealing the bruised and battered body of Lex Luthor, who--like Dinah--was unconscious, and his hair…his hair was missing in large patches on his head.

"_Lex_." Chloe whimpered, dropping to her knees by him and pulling his head onto her lap, thanking all holy when she found a steady pulse as well. She ran her fingers shakily over his head, and a tear escaped as her fingers came away with bigger patches of his hair. It was all dropping off.

Shelby made a noise and nudged his nose against Lex's arm, and Chloe wiped at the tear and frowned when she saw the mark burnt into his flesh, realizing that her handprint had burnt _through his clothes_ and burnt his skin where she'd held onto him when he'd shielded her with his body.

Gasping, Chloe, eased Lex's head back to the ground and she stood, looking at her palms again, before twirling and looking around them at the crater. They shouldn't have survived this, the heat and the explosion should have incinerated them, and yet they only had some bruises?

_Did I do this_? Her gaze widened. _Did my meteor power--did it save us?_

Shelby barked and took off.

_Is that why my handprints are burnt into their skin? Did my power activate and saved me--and spread to them since I was touching them?_ Chloe felt faint, and yet there was also something awake in her, something strong, something she felt shouldn't be there, but something her body still welcomed and accepted. _Can I heal? Is that my real power and not resurrection? Did I come back to life BECAUSE my body healed itself?_

"How _intriguing_." A strange voice said.

Chloe looked up, frowning when she saw a stranger standing in front of her, wearing odd clothes, an unknown accent in his voice. Something about him made her wary, while something in her recognized him.

"A mere mortal shouldn't have lived through that, much less be as unscathed as you appear." He pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "Where is Kal-EL?"

Chloe frowned, taking a step back without even realizing it. "I don't know who you're talking about."

A woman and two other men suddenly _appeared right behind the first, as if having appeared out of nowhere_. The woman glared at her, and suddenly her irises burnt red and a beam of red light shot out at Chloe, causing her to cry out as it burnt her, and she shifted, lifting her deformed arm, watching in shock as the burnt skin healed slowly before her very eyes as the sun shone down on her.

There was the sound of a slap, and Chloe tore her gaze from her fully healed arm to the group of…what exactly _were_ they? Meteor freaks? The leader man had slapped the woman so hard she'd fallen to the ground. In a blink of an eye the man had moved and the woman screamed as blood shot through the air and her body collapsed on the ground, lifeless, and in a second the man was back in front of the two remaining men.

Chloe screamed, hand flying to her mouth as she stared in shock at the body of the woman, whose throat was cut open and blood flowing free, soaking the earth around her.

"The next one of you who acts without my orders I will make all you suffered through in the Zone seem like paradise! I will _not_ tolerate insurrection!" He hissed out the threat before turning to Chloe and narrowing his eyes, taking a step towards her. "She's being transitioned. Look at that, the yellow sun of earth has helped her regenerative faculties. This is not just a mere mortal, she has traits of our people, and yet I've never seen one of ours regenerate so rapidly or perfectly."

Tearing her traumatized gaze from the dead woman's body, Chloe's heart beat painfully in her chest as she began to suspect that these people were something far worse than vindictive meteor freaks. She turned to run and in the blink of an eye the man was in front of her, she turned and he was once more in front of her, just like what happened in the worst kind of nightmares.

Another scream erupted from her mouth as he grabbed hold of the front of her shirt and raised her up like she weighed _nothing_, keeping her dangling by the jersey in the air, feet unable to touch the ground. She was terrified and mortified because she was only wearing Clark's high school jersey, which Martha had given her to sleep in, and her underwear.

"Let _go_ of me!" She struggled in vain, terrified when he narrowed his eyes like the woman had done to her before burning and momentarily disfiguring her arm, but instead of a beam of red light appearing from his eyes, the man looked her up and done slowly, as if he was _examining_ her.

"You've survived through 2/3s of the process." He announced in surprise. "You are meant for Kal-EL."

"Look, I don't know _who_ this Kal-EL is!" She snapped, hysteria turning slowly into terror and strangely enough, anger. "I don't know who the hell _you_ and your psycho buddies are either!" She tried kicking him, but couldn't reach him as he held her dangling in the air.

Chloe screamed when he let go of her, causing her to fall down through the air, only to have him grab her by her throat, his hold restrictive on her breathing. She tried clawing at his hands, crying as her fingers pained her and he tightened his hold on her throat, slowly but surely cutting off her breathing channel.

"Tell me where Kal-EL is." The man growled, eyes dark and dangerous.

Chloe refused to waste her breath talking, feeling her world spinning dizzily around her. Blood pumped deafeningly in her ears, and she went limp in the man's arms, praying that he was like a bear and would let go of her if he thought she was dead, or at least unconscious.

"Let go of her." A deadly voice growled.

Chloe's mind screamed in terror. _No! Clark! You don't get it! These aren't normal people!_

"Kal-EL." The one holding her announced, loosening his hold on her, allowing air to enter her lungs once more, and yet she remained limp, pretending to be passed out. "I knew you would come here when you felt your Chosen in danger."

"How did you get out of the Phantom Zone?" Clark sounded angry, not at all afraid, and he seemed to _know_ these people.

"You ELs all think you're so smart." One of the other men spat.

"Your fight is with me. Leave her out of this."

_No, Clark, don't! These people are--they can do things you can't even imagine!_

"When I'm finished with you, I will return for your little Chosen." The one holding her announced snidely, throwing her to the ground, and it was all Chloe could do to not cry out as she hit the ground painfully. "She'll be of use to repopulate our people."

Clark growled. "I'm not letting you put your hands on her."

"And how are you going stop me, Kal-EL?" The leader taunted. "There are three of us, and only one of you."

There was the sound of growling from somewhere behind Clark.

The leader laughed. "Oh, forgive me, three of us, and you and your little earthling pet."

Shelby snarled and suddenly one of the men screamed.

Chloe peeped open one eye in time to see the closest man to Clark on the ground, screaming and trying to get Shelby off as the usually adoring and loving golden retriever attacked him viciously, teeth digging into the man's flesh and pulling chunks out. Chloe pressed a hand to her mouth to silence her scream and keep the bile from spewing forth.

She was going to be sick.

The men didn't even try to help their friend, they just watched the happening with shock.

"Right." Clark kept his narrowed eyes on them. "Shelby isn't exactly a normal earthling dog."

The leader and the man next to him glared and attacked Clark, rushing forwards at him so quick they were a blur of color, and then they were gone…Clark and the two remaining men had _disappeared_.

Chloe pushed herself out from the ground and looked around her, not able to see them anywhere. She jumped when she felt something nudging her hand, and cried out when she saw Shelby by her side, and realized that that screaming of the man had stopped, and that Shelby's fur and mouth were covered in blood. Her gaze went to the dead body of the man on the ground and then back at Shelby, terrified, fearing that the dog might attack her next in bloodlust.

But gone was the vicious creature that'd torn out the man's Adam Apple and left it next to his body. The bloody creature looking up soulfully into her eyes was the dog she'd risked her life to save, and she managed a small smile and rubbed his head.

"Good dog."

Shelby wagged his tail, barking, before he paused and turned to look behind him, as if able to hear something Chloe just couldn't. He then turned and raced away, barking viciously as he did so.

Chloe watched the dog running incredibly fast, hand covered with the blood that'd been on his fur held to her heart. She was terrified for Clark, he was going up against something she was convinced was _out of this world--literally_.

_Clark_…

Suddenly Chloe gasped as images of being in a dark basement with Clark flew past her eyes. She saw herself talking to Clark, telling him he had to go and do what had to be done, and saw his eyes as he looked at her and told her that he didn't want to leave her, he was frightened that something would happen to her while he was gone, and then suddenly she was kissing Clark, and he was kissing her back, and something _electric_ jolted between them and she'd pulled back.

Chloe blinked, hand on her stomach, feeling that strange something reacting to the images, yet unable to understand what it was, or why it'd warmed inside of her at the memory…wait…_memory_? That wasn't a memory…right?

"_Clark…please…be safe."_

* * *

Hey everyone! Want to kill me yet for all of these cliffhangers I've been leaving you in the last chapters?

**How about a review? Pretty please?**


	13. In A Heart Beat

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or anything related to that universe or that of Superman.**

_Hey everyone, here's the next chapter of Winds of Changer for you. Once again, despite the fact that I now how this ends and what's supposed to happen--I couldn't write it! It's so annoying! I really think, subconsciously, I don't want to end this fic! Lol. But I do! And on that, there's only like approximately three chapters left._

_Oh, and just for everyone to understand--Clark never got sent to the Phantom Zone in this timeline, but he remembers it from the last one and was able to change those happenings. But I needed there to be a credible threat for Clark to protect Chloe from, so I messed around with this idea and decided to go with it, but despite that, the fight really won't be the main theme of the story at all…_

_**SPOILER FOR "VESSEL".**_

_ENJOY!_

* * *

"Mr. Kent? Mrs. Kent?" A faint voice could be heard calling from somewhere above. "Are you guys okay?"

Jonathan shot up from where he'd been sitting on the ground next to his wife. "_Lois_!" The spouses shared a look of utter relief as they hurried to the stairs to be able to hear her better.

"Are you okay, dear?" Martha called up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but Dinah and Lex are unconscious. They need to get to the hospital." There was the sound of grunting and something scraping across the doors of the cellar. The young woman was obviously trying to slowly push away whatever it was that'd fallen over their only exit, trapping them inside. "And Clark's in trouble!"

Jonathan froze, not understanding. "What happened?"

"I don't _know_!" Chloe's voice was strained as the scraping sound continued. "You're going to think that I hit my head too hard during the explosion--but I _think_ we've just been invaded by _aliens_!"

Husband and wife paled in horror as they turned to look at each other.

Chloe grunted out in pain before there was the sound of something tumbling, and then the cellar doors were pulled open, revealing Chloe, covered in dirt and bruises, barefoot and only wearing Clark's jersey, backlit by the bright sunlight.

Jonathan reached for his wife's hand and squeezed it before they ascended the steps and exited the storm cellar, expecting the worst, and yet still not prepared for the total disaster that awaited them above.

The farmer's heart skipped a beat as he stared in horror at the crater where his house, the house his family had lived in for generations, the house he'd ground up in, lived with his wife in, reared his son in--it was _gone_, the only evidence that it'd ever existed was broken remains of red-painted wood.

Half of the barn was completely smashed, while the other half was up in flames, even their faithful old _truck_ had been destroyed and deformed in the meteor shower.

All he'd ever worked for his whole life--the only home he'd ever known--it was _gone_.

Jonathan numbly pulled his wife to him as she broke out into desperate sobs, hiding her face in his chest.

"We have to get them to the hospital." Chloe's voice broke him from his traumatized trance and Jonathan turned to where she'd disappeared to, kneeling between the still bodies of her cousin and fiancée. "I tried healing them myself but I can't control my powers, they won't activate when I try to force them."

It was obvious that she'd dragged Dinah and Lex out of the crater, their clothes torn and barely there, and dragged them to the safety of some grass, laying them side by side.

Martha pushed away from Jonathan and wiped at her eyes, heading towards Chloe and the others, eyes filling with more tears as she knelt next to them and searched for a pulse, the relief that flashed through her eyes proving that she'd found one on both of them. "They need medical help immediately."

Spurred by something to do, a problem to solve, Jonathan pushed away the mourning for a later time, and looked at the burning remains of his truck, eliminating that immediately.

His gaze them rested on the tractor, which, amazingly enough, seemed untouched. An idea brewed in his head as he headed towards a long, wide panel of wood that'd once been one of the walls of their house.

"Martha, Lois, help me. Gather up the longest, widest pieces of wood you can find. We're going to make a rough sled out of it and us it to drag Dinah and Lex behind us in the tractor.

The women shared a look, nodded, and got up to do as told.

Jonathan busied himself with the job ahead, trying to keep his thoughts off of his son, telling himself that Clark had been training for years now, and that he was ready.

* * *

Clark dodged the kicks and punches being thrown his way by the two rogue Kryptonians. He didn't know how they'd managed to escape the Phantom Zone, he'd thought he'd made sure what happened in the last timeline never happened again, and yet here he was battling some of the strongest villains whose souls had been trapped in the prison dimension.

He was just relieved that the strongest, General Zod, was still apparently trapped within the Zone, or he knew that he'd have a very hard time fight _him_ and other Zoners.

Grabbing the second in command when he superspeeded towards him, obviously planning on ramming himself into him, Clark twisted around, using all of his strength to throw him away, the force of it sending the man miles away.

Clark grunted when he was kicked from behind, right between his shoulder blade, and as he hit the ground he rolled, barely missing being burnt by the leader's, Dir-Ha's, heat vision.

"Give up, Kal-EL!" Dir-Ha, who had once been one of Zod's most faithful allies (but had obviously found a way to escape the Zone and had done so without informing his ally) announced as they continued to attack each other, fighting in superspeed.

They moved so rapidly that Clark doubted that if anyone even looked in their direction they'd be able to see even a faint blur of _color_.

"Your father was only able to defeat me by trickery and deception!" Dir-Ha sneered, twirling, the soul of his shoe connecting with Clark's face, sending him colliding down into the ground below. "You are NO match for me!"

The force of the collision of Clark's body to the ground below caused a small crater to appear, but Clark emerged out through the flying dirt and rammed into Dir-Ha, sending him flying back into a light-post, bending it, the shape of his body etched into the cement pole.

Clark screamed as heat burnt his back, and he turned, dodging the heat beams shooting out of Beq-Li, Dir-Ha's right hand man, eyes.

"Missed me?" Beq-Li sneered before charging Clark.

"Not really." Clark dodged the attack easily, despite the burning pain in his back, trying to figure out how to defeat them without killing their hosts' bodies, and yet as Dir-Ha grabbed him from behind, trying to tear his arms out of their sockets, he began to fear that there wasn't going to be any other way.

But he didn't want to kill them, he needed to draw them to the Kawatche Caves, draw them to where he had the Crystal of EL hidden.

He needed to send those bastards back to the Zone.

* * *

"Have you been able to get into contact with your aunt Nell?" Pete's voice broke Lana out of her traumatized state as she continued to survey the almost _total_ damage caused to the Talon. She and her fiancé had been safe inside of the basement, which Pete had had packed with enough supplies, radio equipments and other things that could have kept them living comfortably should an _Apocalypse_ happen--but when one was living in Smallville, and Apocalypse really didn't seem so strange a worry.

"Ye-Yes, I got her on her cellular a couple of minutes ago." Lana nodded, looking at him, managing a weak smile. "She's fine, got into the storm cellar on time." Lana's smile suddenly disappeared. "She said that she'd been trapped there, but the Kents passed by and stopped to see if she was okay, and rescued her."

"How are the Kents?" Pete asked, frowning.

Lana bit down on her bottom lip. "Nell said that there's a huge crater where their house use to be. She said everything is completely destroyed--even her own house is. She said that they were trying to get to town by tractor, but that she stayed at the home. She said that they were pulling a makeshift sled with unconscious people."

"Dear God." Pete exclaimed, running his hand over his shortly cut hair. "What about Clark? Is he okay?"

"I don't know." Lana's voice choked. "I just don't know."

* * *

Chloe felt self-conscious because not only was she only wearing a torn and tattered jersey, but she _was_ supposed to dead. Thankfully, everyone in the Smallville Clinic was busy with their own injuries and didn't pay any attention to her. The doctors that'd pronounced her dead only a couple of hours ago, walked passed her, one even accidentally running into her, without recognizing her.

She'd also overheard one of to nurses explaining to an impatient patient that they'd lost all of their files and backup, so she would have to fill out some sort of form.

That'd filled Chloe's heart with some relief. That meant that the proof that Chloe Sullivan had died was all gone.

Despite the despair and chaos, the name _Luthor_ still held power, and Lex and Dinah were shuffled into one of the last available rooms as the doctors examined them immediately.

While she waited with Mr. and Mrs. Kent, praying to all holy that Lex and Dinah would be okay, there was a commotion as the paramedics entered the room, pulling a cot with a bloody, unconscious Lionel Luthor strapped onto it.

"What happened here?" A doctor rushed towards them.

"The Luthor Castle received a direct hit!" The paramedic quickly gave him the details of those in the castle being buried alive, and the only one who was alive--although barely, was the owner of the castle.

Chloe watched the doctor and a couple of nurses hurry Lionel away to surgery, a mixture of conflicting feelings within her. She was angry because of the things she knew he'd done to innocent human beings, fear because she realized what would happen to her if he discovered that she was alive and _how_ she was alive, and _sadness_ as she remembered growing up under Lionel's constant care and guidance.

"He's going into cardiac arrest!" Was the last thing she heard the doctor cry as they rapidly disappeared with Lionel.

"The family of Alexander Luthor and Dinah Sullivan?" A nurse called.

Chloe, Martha and Jonathan stood, and Chloe hurried towards the nurse. "I'm Dinah's cousin, and Lex's fiancé."

The nurse looked her over, raising an eyebrow at the fact that she was only wearing a jersey that reached her mid-thigh. "Both patients are remarkably well, just suffered a minor concussion. They were moved to the special Luthor Ward wing, you can go see them." She gave Chloe the directions to this ward and then left.

Mr. Kent placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Let's go."

She turned to look at him in torn confusion. "What about Clark?" She knew that they believed her that _someone_ had attacked their son--so why weren't they more worried?

Jonathan and Martha shared a look that said a million words before the husband turned to Chloe. "Clark will be fine."

* * *

In the Fortress of Solitude, Jor-EL _felt_ it when the souls of the prisoners he'd released from the Phantom Zone were returned therein. His son had not only protected his Chosen, but had protected the bodies of those possessed, and that spoke degrees about the man he was becoming. The fact that he cared even for those he didn't know—that he hadn't even wanted to kill his enemies who were bent on doing just that to _him_--yes, his son was slowly beginning to redeem himself and the House of EL. Slowly becoming the man Jor-EL had always wished he would.

And if he redeemed himself to his Chosen, if in time she accepted him as her _true_ Chosen, their children would assure that the Line of EL would never go extinct.

The AI frowned though, realizing that it would take a lot more for Kal-EL to fully redeem the shame he'd inflicted on their Houses, and he wondered if his son--who'd been raised _so human_--would be able to be patient and not destroy the small progress he'd made so far by pushing too fast, too far, and ended up pushing his Chosen away forever.

_Chloe_… Kal-EL's thoughts had immediately turned to his Chosen now that the danger was over, and he was most probably heading to where he'd seen her last. _Chloe_… The Kryptonian Bond cried out, desperate, as it'd been doing ever since the timelines had been changed. _Chloe_…

It'd been crying out for her since Kal-EL had existed, and yet in this timeline, year after year, each cry had gone by unanswered and ignored, as Kal-EL's Chosen seemed deaf to it.

Kal-EL had gone ignored…just like he was being ignored _now_.

_Chloe_…Kal-EL's inner being, his side of the bond, continued to call. _Chloe_…

Jor-EL sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head in disappointment.

_Clark…_

The AI jerked, eyes flying open.

Had--had she--?

_Clark…_Chloe's bond whispered, responding for the first time since Kal-EL's bond had first tried desperately to connect with hers nearly twenty years ago when he had been a mere _child_.

_Chloe…_

_Clark…_She was opening up to him.

In the middle of the Fortress of Solitude, Jor-El smiled. There was some hope for his son after all.

* * *

Lex Luthor groaned as he opened his eyes, feeling warmth in his hand. When his gaze focused, he found Chloe sitting by the side of his bed, holding his hand, smiling tearfully at him.

"Hey." His voice was hoarse.

"_Hey_." She whispered, wiping at a tear that skidded down her cheek before leaning over him and pressing a kiss to his forehead, some of her stray tears dropping to his face. "I was so worried about you."

"What…_happened_?" He forced the words out of his sore throat.

"The Kent's house was hit by the biggest of the meteor rocks." Chloe bit down on her lip before sighing and continuing. "Everything was destroyed, the only thing there now is a huge crater."

Lex blinked, unable to understand how that was true and they were still alive. He then looked up at Chloe, remembering that the last thing he'd seen before the meteor had hit and everything going black was Chloe _glowing_…

"You saved us."

"I think so." She nodded slowly. "I think my power activated to save _me_, and since I was touching you and Dinah it spread to you two as well." She paused. "Lex, we should have been _incinerated_, but you and Dinah only had a minor concussion and I was just _bruised_." She paused. "I don't think my power is resurrection, I think my power is to _heal_."

He managed a small smile at her. It made sense. He knew that Chloe was different from all of those other creatures and monsters. Chloe was a unique being, and no matter _what_ those meteor rocks tried to do to her, she wouldn't become a monster like them. No. Her power could only heal, could only help, and that was because Chloe was an anomaly, a rarity, she was _light_ in human form.

And she needed to be protected from the corruptive influences of those of her same species. If they realized that one of their own had the power over _life_--Chloe would never be safe--not while there was one meteor freak out there.

"Lex?" Chloe whispered, looking down at him in worry. "Are you okay?"

He looked up at her, smiling truer now that he knew what he had to do, now that he knew how to protect her. "I'm perfect." He then frowned. "How's Dinah?"

"She's fine, the painkillers have her sleeping though." Chloe smiled back at him. "She awoke some minutes back long enough to tell me that she hated dogs."

Lex chuckled despite the fact that it hurt him in his chest to do so, that was something Dinah would say. He found his eyes closing as the pain killers began to take effect, and before he succumbed to the darkness of sleep, he thought he heard Chloe saying something about his hair--and something about his father--but it was distorted and he was asleep long before she could finish her sentence.

* * *

Clark followed the sound of her heartbeat, his worry darkening when it brought him to the Smallville Clinic. Was she okay? The last thing he'd seen was her limp in Dir-Ha's grip, and if it hadn't been for the fact that he could hear her heartbeat he'd have been frightened that she was dead.

"Clark!"

He turned at the sound of his mother's voice, pulling back a bit when she barreled into him, hugging him, so that she didn't break something by colliding against him.

"Son." Jonathan Kent, his mortal father, smiled in relief.

"What happened?" Martha asked, pulling away enough to look at her son's face in worry when he hissed in pain. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, mother." Clark pulled away completely, his back a mass of sore, burnt skin, but it didn't matter. What mattered was Chloe. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

Martha looked torn.

"She's with Lex and Dinah." Jonathan responded. "They're in the Luthor Ward Wing--."

And suddenly Clark had superspeeded away, not caring that he'd done so in the middle of a crowded hospital. He needed to see Chloe, needed to know that she was okay.

* * *

"_What_?" Chloe felt as if she'd been slapped as she looked up at the doctor.

"There was nothing we could do." He sighed. "When we realized that his son was in the same hospital, we came to let his family know."

She shook and collapsed into the chair, glad that Lex and Dinah were completely drugged and sleeping, glad that Lex hadn't heard this. "Lionel's _dead_?"

"He went into cardiac arrest and there was nothing we could do. He was dead before we could get him onto the surgical table." The doctor looked down at his shoes. "I am very sorry, miss--."

"Lane." She answered mechanically. "Lois Lane."

"Miss Lane." The doctor looked at his beeper when it beeped. "As you know, Ms. Lane, we're in a crisis, and I--."

"Yes, yes, I understand." She waved him away, not even looking at him, unable to believe that Lionel Luthor was dead.

The news was going to _kill_ Lex! While father and son had never had a close relationship, she knew how much Lex had desired his father's love and approval.

And he'd died without ever giving it.

Body trembling, Chloe felt numb…empty…_dead_. Something crucial was missing inside of her, and she couldn't understand it, couldn't--.

Something suddenly appeared in the doorway.

Chloe looked up through her eyelashes, tears blurring her sight slightly, and despite it all she still _knew_ who was there. "_Clark_." In an instant she was on her feet and had thrown herself into his arms, not understanding _why_ the emptiness was replaced by immediate warmth when his arms went around her and he pulled her closed, resting his cheek on the crown of her head.

_"I was so worried_…" They both whispered at the same time before letting the rest of the sentence drift into silence.

Chloe breathed in Clark's scent and tried to understand why being in his arms like this seemed so familiar, so natural, so _right--_as if he'd held her before when she knew that he hadn't. Not like this--not like she was the most precious thing in the world and he'd been terrified of losing her.

It didn't make any sense--they'd just met, they were total strangers--and yet something she hadn't known existed within her came _alive_ every time he touched her, _looked_ at her, and for the first time since she'd first laid eyes on Clark Kent, she was just too tired to fight it. She _needed_ comfort, _needed_ Clark to hold her, and she knew she'd tell herself off later for allowing this weakness, but for now she just didn't care.

Chloe cried, and Clark held her to him like a child, whispering softly that everything was going to be all right, that Dinah and Lex were fine, that he was fine, that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her again. She tightened her hold on him and believed him, believed for some weird, unexplainable reason, that Clark wouldn't let anything happen to her.

For a second she finally let her guard down and just _accepted_ him.

"It'll be fine." Clark's voice was soothing as he softly caressed her hair. "Everything will be fine. I promise."

Chloe slowly calmed, reacting to his tone of his voice and the caress of her hair, feeling lulled to sleep like a baby by exhaustion and the intense feeling of _safety._

Neither noticed the second their hearts skipped a beat and then began beating in perfect harmony.

* * *

That's the next installment to Winds of Change! Review?


	14. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman, or any characters that appear or are mentioned in those series/movies.**

_Hey everyone! How are things doing? I'm home sick but decided to try and write the next chapter for you all anyway since there are like only two chapters left to this little 'in between' Smallville and Superman story. I'm really psyched to see how faithful people have been to it and how supportive they've been, considering that this is my first chlois and I was a little intimidated when I began, but now I'm fully enjoying it and it's all thanks to you guys! _

_Lol, I feel a little bad because I've apparently temporarily put on HIATUS my other series (ex. The Chlarry, Lanathan, Chlurry, and Requested series) but I'm trying to figure out which one I should update next…not exactly sure which to do, I mean, there's the confrontation between Harry/Chloe, there's the birth of the newest Kent, there's the furthering in Chloe's and AC's relationship, and there's the many requests that I still have to do! I'm swamped! Lol._

_Just for curiosity's sake, which do __**YOU**__ think I should update next?_

* * *

The lawyers hadn't given Lex time to recuperate. The moment the news of Lionel Luthor's death reached their ears they were on a plane to Metropolis, where Dinah and Lex had been transferred, and had held a long, arduous meeting with the heir--no--with the now sole _owner_ of Luthorcorp. Chloe sat reading a magazine in Dinah's room as the girl slept, pissed that those _vultures_ had been in Lex's room for _hours_ now going over the different legal information and stuff.

Couldn't they see that he needed to rest and recuperate his strength? Couldn't this wait for when he was out of the hospital? Luthorcorp wouldn't go bankrupt if it passed one day without constant supervision from its owner! That was what _managers_ were for!

The brunette sighed and shook her head, trying to concentrate on the magazine she was reading. She'd just gotten off the phone with her parents, who'd been terrified ever since watching the news and seeing that Smallville had been 99 per cent destroyed by the freak meteor shower that'd seemed to appear out of nowhere in seconds, giving the authorities virtually _no time_ to warn the residents.

Chloe's father had been the most worried, demanding she return home right away, and when she'd told him that they were in Metropolis already, that Lex and Dinah had been transferred to the Metropolis Hospital, Gabe Sullivan had told her that they were on their way. Usually Chloe would have been relieved for their support, but right now their soon arrival made her feel jumpy, nervous. She needed time alone, needed to go over all of the things that'd happened since they'd gone to Smallville, needed time to get Clark Kent out of her head. She didn't understand it, didn't understand why she couldn't get him out of her head, couldn't help but _feel_ him somehow, and she wanted to get rid of it, and immediately.

She felt guilty for accepting Clark's comfort, and she didn't know _why_. She hadn't been unfaithful to Lex, but for some reason she felt as if she _had_, and that confused and angered her. What was wrong in her accepting comfort when she needed it? When it'd been offered so freely and willingly? What was so _wrong_ with it?

The wind cooed soothingly out of the window, and Chloe stood, putting down the magazine and going to the window, opening it and closing her eyes as the wind rushed in, bathing her in its cool caress. For a second she could have _sworn_ she felt a large, calloused hand caress her cheek, but then it was gone and all she felt was the wind.

Still, that restless feeling she'd had deep within was calmed immediately, and Chloe breathed in the wind, felt it circling her, surprisingly warm and yet refreshing.

There was a hint of familiar aroma in it…it smelt of hay and something, something infinitely _male_…

"Chloe!"

Chloe twirled around, the spell broken, the calm she'd felt ripped away from her, as her gaze rested on her parents, who were rushing towards her, hugging her tightly.

"Baby…" Moira Sullivan pulled away quicker and looker her over, her black hair faintly tinged with gray and her eyes bluer with tears. "Are you okay?"

"Yes mom." Chloe smiled at her mother. "I'm fine. It's Lex and Dinah who were hurt."

Moira gave her daughter a kiss on her cheek before turning and going to the bed, where her niece still slept due to the strong pain killers. "Oh Dinah, you look so pale."

_You'd be commenting on how good she looked if you knew that we'd survived a direct hit from a huge meteor that left a crater where we were standing._

"How is Lex?" Gabe Sullivan asked, giving his daughter a hug before going over to where his deceased brother's daughter lay resting.

"He's fine." Chloe sighed. "Lionel didn't make it though."

Moira gasped, eyes wide as she pressed a hand to her mouth.

Gabe looked up in shock. "What was Mr. Luthor doing in Smallville?"

"He--," _found out that one of his experiments had kidnapped and ultimately killed me_. "Had some pressing issues that brought him to Smallville, and was alone in the castle when it received a direct hit. He died shortly after."

"How _horrible_." Moira cried. "Mr. Luthor had always been so wonderful to you!"

Gabe nodded, silent in his mourning. "Mr. Luthor might have been somewhat eccentric, but he was a good person, and there is _nothing anyone_ can tell me that will _ever_ change my mind on that."

Chloe smiled weakly at them, realizing that she wasn't going to be able to ever tell them the truth. She was too terrified of their rejection, of their fear, and she wouldn't risk losing them, she just couldn't.

"How is Lex taking it, dear?" Moira asked softly, wiping at her tears. "He must have been heart-broken, he was always so desperate for his father's approval."

"It's been a horrible blow for him." Chloe responded truthfully, remembering the horrified look that'd paled his face when Lex had finally been told that his father was dead. "He—he was also--Lex--Lex lost his hair."

"_What_?" Moira and Gabe Sullivan exclaimed at the same time.

"The house we were in was hit by a meteor, and Lex got the full impact of the blow." Chloe collapsed on the chair once more, looking at her feet, guilt eating at her. "The radiation caused all of his hair to fall out, and the doctors don't think that it'll ever grow back."

"Oh my _god_." Moira whispered. "I always admired his hair!"

Chloe sighed. _Everyone_ had always admired Lex's hair, it was truly a beautiful, silky creation, and although Lex had always scoffed at the attention it'd always gotten him, she'd seen the torment in his eyes when he'd been told he'd be _bald_ for the rest of his life. He'd tried to hide his anguish behind a joke, saying that he wouldn't have to worry about lice ever again, but Chloe had seen the look in his eyes and it'd broken her heart.

It was all _her_ fault. If _she_ hadn't stayed behind in that house because of Shelby Lex wouldn't have been there when the meteor hit--he would have been safe in the cellar and none of this would be happening to him.

It was _her_ fault that all of this was happening.

"When can we see him?" Gabe asked.

"The lawyers have been with his for hours now." Chloe sighed, looking up at her father, knowing he could see the tortured look in her eyes. "He's now the owner of Luthorcorp and they're making sure they're all not only keeping their job--but that he's up to ruling them. They've come to him at this time because he's at his weakness, and they're seeing if he's weak enough for them to try and do a takeover, but Lex already knew they'd try something like that. He won't show any weakness and he won't step down. He'll fire them all on the spot if he has to but they're going to leave that room respecting him more than they ever did Lionel."

Moira smiled at her daughter. "It's always so heartwarming to hear you talking about Lex. You can hear the love in your voice--it reminds me of your father and I."

Gabe looked a little embarrassed, but he managed a smile at his wife anyway.

Chloe sighed and closed her eyes.

For some reason she wished that they would leave, and she could somehow retrieve the feeling of _rightness_ she had by the window.

* * *

Clark pushed away from the window in the Ross' house, frustrated, something had interfered and the little connection he'd managed to have with Chloe had been severed abruptly. He knew she wasn't in danger, the sound of her heart was steady and calm, not the rapid rush of danger, so someone must have interrupted her time alone.

He sighed, looking at the window frame without really seeing it. Being apart from Chloe had always been hard, but now that he'd been able to be with her again, to touch her and hold her close--it was tortuous. Still he held on strong to his resolve. He'd made a choice and he was a Kryptonian, his race held strong to their decisions--and the pain of the wait and of the separation would only make the reunion sweeter…because no matter _how_ long it took, Clark was _positive_ that he'd see Chloe again.

Until then he would have to somehow make do with taking care of her from a distance--listening to her heartbeat--to her laughter and tears--and being able to touch her, if only for a second, with the wind.

"Clark."

He turned to see his mother, not surprised that she'd managed to sneak up on him because he'd been very distracted. "Mom."

"He'd bald, Clark."

He nodded, looking out of the window at the destroyed countryside. Pete's parents had been one of the few families whose houses hadn't been touched by the meteor shower. "I know."

There was silence until she reached his side. "Don't you understand, Clark? He's going to become the same person he was in the other timeline, he's going to continue his father's legacy. You have to go to Chloe, you have to warn her, you have to--."

"I'm not going to do any of that." He knew he'd shocked his mother, but right now he felt too empty to really care. "Just because Lex has lost his hair doesn't mean he's going to become evil…and he loves Chloe," it killed him to have to admit it. "She's a meteor freak--why do you think he'd still want to hurt them?"

"I don't know, all I _do_ know is that when I looked down on Lex Luthor today, I saw the future, and it frightened me." Martha hugged herself, truly worried. "You need to warn Chloe and make her see what he truly is."

"That's just it, mother," Clark turned to look at her. "All along I've been excusing my behavior because I kept saying that he was evil and didn't deserve her, but the truth is that Lex Luthor shielded Chloe's body with _his_, _that_ is why he's bald, and a truly evil person--he doesn't do that."

Martha opened her mouth. "You wouldn't done the exact same for her."

"But I have super powers. Lex doesn't."

Marta shut back her mouth quickly, blinking, obviously never having seen things in that light before.

"No, mother, my father was right--Jor-EL was right." He quickly corrected when she gave him an odd look. "It's not my time to be with Chloe yet. If Lex is going to choose the wrong path, Chloe will be the first to realize it. Jor-EL believes that Lex will not stay in the light for long, but I have to give him a chance--and this world is a better place with the Lex that Chloe has made him."

"_Clark_…" His mother's hand went on his arm. "You love her."

"Which is why I'm willing to wait." He was determined. "I've disgraced our Houses mom," he didn't stop to explain that to his confused mother. "I've only shown myself unworthy of Chloe's affections--and I need to change that before I can try and regain a place in her life."

"But--."

"No buts, mom." Clark frowned at her, wishing she'd be more supportive of him and his decision--a decision he knew was the right one. "I've made my decision. Chloe needs to be with Lex now, she still loves him and she'd never forgive herself if she hurt him--especially not now--not after everything that he's suffered. There's nothing you can say that's going to make me change my mind."

"But you _need_ Chloe."

"For right now, he needs her more."

Martha looked at her son silently, realizing for the first time that he'd grown up and become a man. A small smile touched her face. "You're a better person than I am."

He shook his head. "No mom, you're just really loyal to me."

Mother and son stood together looking out of the window, a peaceful silence falling upon them.

* * *

When all of the lawyers had finally left, Lex sat silent in his hospital room. Chloe had asked him to let her know when they were gone so she could come and sit with him for a while, and yet the young billionaire had chosen not to do so. It wasn't that he didn't want Chloe's company, it was just that he had too many things going on in his head at the moment so he really wouldn't be good company for her.

The death of his father weighed heavily on his soul, because while he and Lionel Luthor had never had a good relationship, he'd felt them grow _closer_ during Lionel's brief visit to Smallville, and the fact that he'd been torn away from him so abruptly caused anger and resentment to grow inside of the young man. And what made him feel worse was that he was sure that that meteor shower had been _planned_.

He didn't share this belief with anyone because they'd believe that he was mad with grief, but nothing could dissuade him from this. He'd listened to Chloe as she told him about the 'aliens' that'd attacked her and Clark, and Lex had wanted to _kiss_ her for her innocent naivety. Whatever had attacked them had brought down the meteors--and what had attacked them--and from what Chloe had said--_savagely burnt Clark's back_--was nothing other than _Meteor Freak_s--and very _powerful_ ones.

It terrified him that there were creatures out there so strong with the power to control things like _meteors_, and it filled him with fury at the fact that not only had they tried to take Chloe from him, and had killed his unborn son, but that meteor freaks had caused the death of his father as well. They needed to be stopped, annihilated, and that was why he'd told the lawyers to add more funds to the 33.1 projects.

He sighed, looking out of the window at the darkening sky outside. He hated keeping secrets from Chloe but he knew that she could never know what he was doing, never know _how_ he was keeping her and the rest of the world safe. She wouldn't understand. Chloe saw grey areas where there were only black and white, good and bad, and she wouldn't understand that what he was doing was necessary. Her heart was kind and naïve, and she would point out that she herself would never hurt anyone—so that was proof enough that not _all_ Meteor Freaks were evil, but Lex knew that Chloe was different. She hadn't read all the cases he had, hadn't seen what those monsters were capable--and willing--to do. He didn't want her to know, not all at once at least. The cases were too gruesome, too disheartening…

So, for now, and maybe forever, Chloe would have to remain oblivious to what he was doing. He couldn't risk her finding out and not understanding, not agreeing with his course of action. She might even _fear_ him because of what he was doing to her own kind.

_No. Chloe is NOTHING like those creatures. They infected her, they tried to corrupt her, but I won't let them win. I will keep her safe from them--and from herself, if need be._

So Chloe couldn't know. She would _never_ know…and he would keep her, and the rest of the oblivious world, safe.

"Mr. Luthor?" An old nurse entered the room, shaking the container with medicine in her hand. "It's time."

_Yes_. Lex nodded. _It's time_.

* * *

Lana knew that everyone had suffered a loss, and she felt so inconsiderate for locking herself away from the others and crying her eyes out as if she was the only one who'd been affected by the meteor shower, but for right now she just didn't care. If _The Talon_ had been just a business place of hers it's total destruction wouldn't have bothered her so much, but it'd been the movie theatre that her parents had met in, and as a meteor shower had taken her parents from her, a meteor shower had taken away their precious meeting place as well.

Lana hugged the pillow in the bedroom tightly as she cried, remembering all she'd done to convince her aunt to not sell the old theatre and to make something new and profitable out of it--to be able to preserve a bit of her parents in any way possible--that was how the coffee shop had come to be, and now it was gone.

"Lana?" Pete called softly as he opened the door and stuck his head in. "Honey?"

"Go away…" She mumbled into the pillow. "I'm being stupid and inconsiderate and brattish right now. I might just ruin the only thing good left in my life and make you not want to marry me. So go _away_."

Pete chuckled softly as he shook his head and entered the guest room of his parent's house, closing the door behind him and going to lie down next to Lana on the bed. "It's okay for you to feel this way, babe, you lost _The Talon_, and it was a very important place for you. No one expects you to be brave and not show how hurt you are."

"Are you calling me a crybaby?" She sniffed as he tugged the pillow away from her and pulled her against him.

"No," Pete chuckled softly as she buried her face in his shirt and he ran his fingers through her dark, silky hair. "I'm just saying that you are very much in-touch with your emotions and are not ashamed to show how you feel."

"You _are_ calling me a crybaby." She accused, voice smothered by his shirt. Lana hugged him close, knowing that all would be well as long as Pete was with her. Ever since he'd come into her life she'd become a better person, and at times she feared that he'd realize how much _better_ he could do and leave her for good. She could take the loss of anything—even _The Talon_—but she wouldn't be able to survive life without Pete in her life.

There was a knock on the door and Mr. Ross stuck his head in. "Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but you're not going to believe it."

"What?" Pete asked.

Lana pushed away slightly to wipe her eyes and look at her future father-in-law. "What happened?"

"The major just made an announcement on the radio." Mr. Ross exclaimed, excited. "Lex Luthor is donating a _ridiculous_ amount of money to help the rebuilding of Smallville! The money is going to be distributed evenly, and, we just got a call from his girlfriend, Lois Lane."

Lana blinked at the name. "But that's impossible. Lois is _dead_!"

"She didn't sound dead to me." Mr. Ross announced with a face. "She said that Lex told her that he'd be sending you and Pete extra money to build up the Talon again because Lois and her cousin had loved it so much. She also said that he was sending extra money to the Kents, whose whole place was destroyed by the meteor shower."

Pete was frozen by her side. "The meteor rocks." He turned to Lana.

It suddenly dawned on her too. _Lois came back to life during the meteor shower! It must have made her a meteor freak!_

"I got to go, the mayor will be making another announcement soon!" And with that, Mr. Ross disappeared, leaving the two young adults alone.

"She's a meteor freak." Pete whispered. "She's _alive_."

"Well," Lana whispered, wiping at her wet cheeks. "At least _something_ good came out of this whole disaster."

* * *

Jor-EL processed the information he was receiving through the wireless signals transmitting in the air, processing the data and nodding, things were going as he had believed they would. The only surprise was his son, he'd believed that Kal-EL would let his human feelings of desperation make him act out of line and listen to his adopted mortal mother, but his son had proven that he truly wished for his Chosen to be happy--and he'd unknowingly stepped onto another step of the ladder he was climbing to redeem himself in the Kryptonian Way.

And his Chosen, she was proving herself a more worthy choice as she remained by the side of _her_ Chosen despite the fact that she was unknowingly opening herself to Kal-EL. Despite the pull, the _call_ she refused to leave and abandon her Chosen, refused to betray him despite the fact that she could sense something different within him--and that spoke volumes on the kind of mortal his son had chosen for his own.

_Let us hope when the time comes and the darkness within her Chosen is revealed, that Kal-EL will behave appropriately to woo her_.

* * *

Dinah Sullivan groaned as she finally awoke as the pain medication wore off. It was dark and she was alone in a hospital room overfilled with flowers. She frowned, reaching for the bouquet closest to her and opening the tag, trying to see who it was from.

_"Lance"_ she knew immediately who was the only person in the world who'd send her flowers to her pseudonym. "_Get better soon so you and Lane can work on the article together. Imagine, The Daily Planet will have had two survivors of the freak Smallville Meteor Shower! The article that will be! So, by Caesar's Ghost, get better already before we get scoped!"_

Dinah rolled her eyes. Perry White _really_ needed to work on his people skills.

She reached for another tag from a large, extravagant and extremely _gaudy_ bouquet. "_Dinah_," it read. "_When I heard that you'd survived the shower my heart lit with happiness, I made sure I was the first one to send you flowers. I wanted to visit, but they said only family was allowed at the time, so I sent you the largest, most expensive bouquet in the shop to let you know that you are in my thoughts and in my heart…and other places… Grant_."

Okay, now she _cringed_. Ever since the first day that Lex visited the Daily Planet, and sports reporter Gabriel Grant realized he had no chance in hell of getting Chloe, he'd gone after _Dinah_ with a vengeance. Honestly, the guy was stupid, wore tight shirts to accentuate his muscles, and he was _disgusting!_ He was a macho, women-belong-at-home-and-in-bed kinda guy and had a way of making _everything_ an innuendo. Even though he knew Chloe would never give him a second look he still tried to flirt with her and get her to touch his muscles as he flexed them in front of her uninterested face, and when she told him she was busy _working_--he'd turn to Dinah as if she was the consolation prize!

ARGH!

_Okay, stop thinking about Gabriel Grant, OR his second-rate gossip-columnist sister Cat, both of them are disgusting and crude and think that they're bodies will get them everywhere. You need to keep your blood pressure down and you KNOW you get disgusted and angry and PISSED whenever you think of the double-trouble twins that Perry hired for SOME UNKNOWN REASON!_

Sighing, Dinah reached for the next one and smiled when she saw that it was from Luke, a lawyer she'd been seeing off an on for the last couple of weeks. "_Called your office and some guy named Jimmy told me what happened. Don't know what your favorite flower is, but I sent you daisies because they reminded me of you. I hope you get better soon. Call me when you're out of the hospital and we'll get together one night. Luke._"

Similarly, the rest of her flowers were from male admirers and guys she'd been going on dates with during the last three months. Dinah had been blessed with her mother's good looks, and her kick-boxing training with Chloe had left her in top physical condition, so there were no shortage of men in her life wanting to go out with her, and since Dinah wanted what Chloe had with Lex she dated every single one of them that appeared with a bouquet and cheesy line.

So far she'd kissed a lot of frogs and been disappointed.

The trip to Smallville had _also_ made her think about relationships, because not only were Chloe and Lex finally _officially_ engaged, but she'd met Lana and Pete who were _also_ engaged and so in love with each other that it was _frustrating_. Of course, Lana and Dinah had been on separate teams of course, one for team _chlark_ and the other for team _chlex_, but that hadn't meant that Dinah hadn't liked her--or envied what she'd had with the handsome African American.

"It's like everyone has found their Prince and left me in a world of Frogs!" She exclaimed to herself, annoyed.

The only other guy she knew that was half decent was _Smallville_, and he _really_ wasn't her type! Even if he _had_ been, the guy was googoo over her baby cousin, so _he_ was out of the picture.

She was about to lie back down and force herself to sleep out of pure _disgust_, when she noticed a small bouquet almost hidden by the rest of them. It was tiny and simple compared to the other flowers that littered the room, and yet something about them attracted her, and she tilted her head to the side, reaching over and pulling them into her arm, smelling the sunflowers with a smile. While she didn't have a favorite flower, sunflowers had always seemed so _cheerful_ to her, so the fact that somebody had noticed that caused her to smile and tug on the small, barely-there note.

"_Ms. Lance_," it began so respectfully that she blinked in surprise. "_I was terribly sorry when I heard about the news, and although we aren't friends and really don't talk, I wanted to send you these flowers just to let you know that your soon recovery is in my prayers. I also sent you some Cadbury chocolate since I've noticed you sneaking a bite out of a bar every other day at work, and thought you'd enjoy some because I know that hospital food sucks. Please get better soon. Jimmy Olsen."_

Cadbury? Dinah blinked. He'd sent her some _CADBURY_? Where _was_ it!?

Looking around her frantically, she finally noticed the chocolate bar hidden behind one of the larger bouquets and she grabbed it, tearing off the wrapper and closing her eyes in ecstasy at the taste.

_God, I LOVE Cadbury_.

Opening her eyes once more, Dinah read over the note with a small smile touching her lips. So, the geeky yet adorably cute new photographer who squeaked and ran into stationary things like doors and desks whenever she said hi to him had not only noticed the sunflower prints on her bag but had caught her sneaking a bite of her favorite chocolate--and remembered exactly _which kind_ she liked?

She grinned, taking another bite out of the bar of chocolate.

_Hmmm….Jimmy Olsen, blonde, cute freckles, geeky yet adorable…and the only man I know who can pull off wearing a bowtie and not look utterly ridiculous._

She sighed, smile growing as she took in another whiff of the sunflowers.

_Houston, we might have a winner._

* * *

**Two more chapters to go, people! How about a review?**


	15. Six Months Later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman, or any characters that appear or are mentioned in those series/movies.**

_Wow, people, only one more chapter to go…do you see how far we've come in such a little amount of time? I'm still feeling crappy (nausea, muscle pains, sore throat, hoarse voice, dizziness, headache…you name it, I got it!) but I decided to write to try and get my mind off of how crappy I feel. Also, I know you guys would kill me if I just stopped writing this right when things were getting to a close--and while I feel crappy right now--I WANNA LIVE! Lol._

_OH, and yeah, this chapter happens a while after the last chapter took place--just to give time for a certain amount of things to happen._

* * *

(SIX MONTHS LATER)

Chloe Sullivan bit down on her bottom lip to keep from smiling, or even bursting out in laughter, but she couldn't really keep a straight face as Dinah ranted about Jimmy Olsen, her boyfriend of six months. Really, the world had seemed to turn upside down when the Daily Planet's sex-symbol had returned from her hospital break only to rigorously chase the geeky new photographer, and no one had been more surprised than Jimmy himself, who'd initially seemed more than a little _afraid_ of Dinah's active pursuing.

But things had worked out and they were an extremely stable couple. The first month they hadn't been exclusive, but that was because Jimmy knew of Dinah's MO, knew that she dated more guys than he could count on his hand, and when she'd exploded on him one night, demanding the identity of the 'hussy' he had on the side that he couldn't commit to their relationship, well, the red-faced photographer hadn't realized that she was deadly jealous…and he'd been more than a little confused considering that he'd only been seeing Dinah.

After the whole truth had come out, they'd been an exclusive item, and despite the fact that Dinah was the one who had the men trailing after her like lost puppies, _she_ was the one who was the jealous partner in their relationship. If she spied any girl in the office talking to Jimmy or making him laugh she got defensive right away. She'd even snapped her pencil in half once when she'd looked up and realized that Cat Grant was flirting incessantly with the nervous and slightly confused photographer.

It was really cute really, considering that Cat could have torn open her shirt and begged Jimmy to take her right there and then--and he'd have either ran away…or just ask her if she'd seen Dinah. The guy was oblivious to anything that had breasts that wasn't Dinah, and to see her usually in control and devil-may-care cousin ready to _attack_ any girl who so much as _looked_ at Jimmy--well--it was obviously _love_.

Chloe sighed. At least _one_ Sullivan girl was having it good in her relationship.

The younger cousin frowned as she thought back to the last couple of months, in which she'd managed to put Smallville behind her and remerge herself in her job and her relationship with Lex…her _strained_ relationship with Lex. Ever since the meteor shower Lex had been _different_, and things between them were getting strained. Of course, the fact that she hadn't been able to get pregnant again was a factor in the whole situation, but there was something else, something that Lex was keeping from her.

If he'd been a workaholic before they'd gone to Smallville for that fateful weekend, the man now practically _lived_ at work. She couldn't remember the last time they'd had time together. Lex was always busy, always had 'pressing issues' that kept him from home, and whenever he arrived late, he wouldn't look her in her eyes when he'd say that he'd been busy working. Not only that, but there was an odd smell that was on his clothes of late, and Chloe couldn't help fear that he was having an affaire.

"I'm about to explode, or beg, or _kill him_!" Dinah finished her rant as they had their coffee break on the rooftop of the Daily Planet. "Six months, Chloe, _six months_! I mean, I understand that he's shy--and I get that he's into the whole _respecting_ thing, but if I get anymore obvious with my hints I'm going to be tying him down to my bed and _raping him_!"

Chloe choked on her coffee and looked at her fuming cousin, eyes wide in disbelief. "Wait--you're telling me that in these six months you and Jimmy haven't--_ever_?!"

"_NO_!" Dinah turned and kicked at a potted plant. "I'm going _crazy_ here! I've been _without sex for six goddamn months and I'm going to go insane if he doesn't do something SOON!_"

Chloe blinked, unable to process this information. Dinah, who'd always been a _very_ sexual person, had been abstaining from sex for _six months_, waiting on Jimmy? God, the woman was _in love!_ "Have you tried to talk to him about this?"

"He says he doesn't want to _rush_ me." Dinah growled, looking about to tear her hair out or something. "There I am, straddling him on my sofa, tugging at his damned sexy bowtie with my _teeth, _nearly _tearing his damned shirt off_, and he doesn't want to _rush me_? FOR REAL?"

Chloe couldn't help it, she laughed, and she felt guilty for doing it because this was obviously eating at her cousin--but she just couldn't help it. The whole situation was so ironic and _hilarious!_

"Sure, sure, laugh it up." Dinah growled. "Ms. I-Have-A-Healthy-Sex-Life-With-My-Yummy-Man can laugh all she wants at us poor, sex-starved mortals."

That shut Chloe up immediately.

Dinah paused suddenly, eyes widening. "_Chloe_?"

She looked down at the cup of cooling coffee in her hands, biting the inside of her lip, looking at the dark liquid and not really seeing it. "Lex is having an affaire."

"_What_?"

She didn't dare look up at her cousin as she came towards her, feeling the tears filling her eyes, tears she refused to shed. "He hardly spends the night at the penthouse anymore…I never see him…he hasn't touched me in _forever_."

"But that doesn't mean that he's having an affaire." And yet Dinah's voice quivered as she placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Lex is just going through a hard time adjusting to everything--to his hair--his father's death--taking over Luthorcorp--."

"He calls someone and talks in hushed voices--hangs up whenever I come into the room--won't tell me who he's talking to." Chloe confessed, bottom lip trembling from her suppressed sobs. "The phone will ring and when I answer it the person will hang up." Her heart hurt, because finally talking to someone, telling someone--it made it real--realer than she'd allowed herself to believe up until that moment. "Lex comes home smelling odd, he won't look me in the eye when he answers where he's been, what he's been doing."

Dinah was silent.

"I think I disgust him." Chloe hated herself from the pain that her voice betrayed. She'd been so strong--so _strong dammit_!--and now she was breaking apart. "I think he finally understands _what_ I am, and he's _disgusted_, so disgusted he can't even bare the thought of touching me--being in the same room with me for longer than he has to."

"_Chloe_…" Dinah was holding her in seconds, pulling her close. "Lex _loves_ you--you _know_ that!"

"No…" Chloe finally broke down. "I don't. Not anymore."

Dinah sniffled. "If—If he's—_no_

—Lex wouldn't--ARGH!" She growled. "Why do men have to be such _ASSHOLES_?!" Her voice screamed the last word in extreme anger, and suddenly the ground shook beneath them and the glass in the buildings all around the Daily Planet exploded.

The girls screamed, falling to the ground as the Daily Planet shook beneath them, the glass in the building shaking, as buildings all around began to have their windows explode as well. And the more Dinah screamed--the more the windows broke…

Chloe's eyes widened as she flung her hand over Dinah's mouth, feeling a jolt of _power_ surge through her hand, and as soon as Dinah's scream was silenced, the chaos around them stopped.

Green eyes met as the cousin's gasped, looking at each other in sudden understanding.

Apparently Chloe wasn't the only Sullivan with a meteor-secret to keep any more.

* * *

Clark looked up from where he'd been working on the farm, eyes narrowed, worried. He'd felt Chloe's heart rush in fear and then it'd gone down again. She wasn't frightened anymore, so she'd probably only gotten a scare--maybe someone had snuck up behind her? She must have been very concentrated--because the scare had been _real_, but right now she was fine.

Breathing in a deep, calming breath, Clark had to physically keep him from rushing to her--as he'd been doing for the last six months. Thank Rao he'd been able to keep himself somewhat busy the last couple of months by returning to his studies at Met U--although keeping himself away from Chloe--and working as a Junior at the Smallville Ledger, writing humanitarian pieces, and yet he was slowly building himself up a name.

And he kept up with Chloe…err…_Lois Lane_. She continued with her flawless writing in the Daily Planet, making a name for herself. Her writing was captivating, and he had to admit that he'd kept all of her articles since she'd returned to Metropolis. It was his only connection to her--that and their nights together of course.

He blushed, all right, 'their nights together' probably didn't word it right, but Clark felt close to her, felt hope, felt--he didn't know what he felt.

But every night for the last three months Chloe had been spending her nights on the roof of the penthouse she lived in with Lex, with her eyes closed, sometimes silent, sometimes talking to herself--sometimes _crying_--and he'd reached out to her the only way he knew how--the _wind_. And she welcomed it--_anticipated_ it if her nightly routine--if the anticipation he felt build in her as she hurried up to the rooftop--had anything to say about the matter.

"Clark."

He turned and saw his mother. "Hey mom."

She smiled, looking beautiful in her long pink dress and shawl. She'd been smiling ever since they'd been able to rebuild the house and barn. "Lana and Pete won't be happy if Pete's Best Man is late for the wedding."

Clark smiled right back at her, putting down the rake. Today was the day that Pete and Lana became husband and wife. They were getting married in the Talon. It was an unusual but not surprising choice. Both of them lived there, Lana worked there, her parents had _met_ there, so it was an ideal place for the nuptials, and Clark had the honor of being Best Man to Nell's Matron of Honor.

"Yeah, he'd have to punch me, and then I'd have to explain how he ended up breaking his fist." Clark grinned. "Can't have all that drama during a wedding--the wedding planning itself was enough drama."

Martha flicked her shawl at him. "Get washed and dressed, young man. You're father and I are going to head to town in the truck."

Clark nodded and was about to superspeed when he paused, listening to the sound of Chloe's heartbeat. It was a little more rushed than usual, but it wasn't the rush of fear. She was worried but not frightened. She was all right. "Mom?"

"Huh?" She turned from where she'd been going to meet her husband by the truck. "What is it dear?"

"Do you think I'm ever going to be able to give it to her?" He paused, eyes in the direction of Metropolis, voice nostalgic. "The ring?"

Martha's smile turned soft. "Of course you will honey, and she's going to love it."

He gave his mother a smile for her unconditional loyalty before superspeeding away.

* * *

"_Get on it_!" Lex snapped as he smashed the telephone on the receiver, feeling anger, terror and _horror_ build inside of him as he watched the news of the 'strange' and 'unexplainable' occurrence that'd happened downtown, Metropolis. The glass in the buildings all around the Daily Planet had just begun to _explode_ without any reason behind the happening. Some were calling it a terrorist attack, but Lex knew what it really was…it was a _meteor freak attack_.

He hadn't been able to get into contact with Chloe since his secretary had phoned him telling him to turn on the television, and he was terrified, would have gone to the Daily Planet himself if he hadn't caught sight of her and Dinah on Channel 5, hurrying out of the building, looking terrified and shaken, but uninjured.

Breathing out a breath of relief, realizing that none of the fatalities or casualties had been _them_, Lex collapsed back into his seat. Thank _God_, Chloe ad Dinah hadn't been hurt--or if they had, she'd healed them.

His heart had nearly stopped when he'd heard about what happened, terrified that something had happened to his Chloe, and while he wanted to rush to her and Dinah, Lex forced himself to sit down and continue work. There was nothing he could do now but work, continue with what he was doing--it'd make the world a better place one day.

It would.

It _had_ to.

_Concentrate, Luthor. Chloe is fine. She's safe. So is Dinah. You saw them yourself on television. So get your mind back on the work, on the really important task at hand._

Chloe was fine…no thanks to that _meteor freak_--whoever _that meteor freak_ was. He'd already called his people and they were on it. The creature that'd perpetuated this attack had to be in the radius of the damage--had probably been closest to the Daily Planet, and Lex growled. They were getting closer and closer to Chloe.

Was this their way of trying to scare him from continuing what he was doing? By trying to hurt Chloe?

He growled at the thought.

They were mistaken if they believed that he would let the same mistake happen twice. His personal squad would constantly watch Chloe from now on, night and day they'd trail her and keep her safe. They'd detect the meteor freak if it tried to get to her, to hurt her again, and they'd bring the animal to him, and he'd take care of it like he had all the others since he'd taken over 33.1.

He sighed, running his hands over his bald head, still not used to not having his hair.

Lex knew that Chloe was getting suspicious, god bless her, his woman was a smart one. She'd been close to catching him talking to the people at 33.1 on the phone countless times, and the way she looked at him when he made excuses for coming from overseeing the new facilities and experiments, well, he didn't think she believed him. But it would soon be over. He'd soon find a way to control all of the animals out there, find a way to make them a weapon _for_ humanity, and then he'd finally be able to touch her again without feeling like scum for enjoying the feel of her in his arms and not being out there, making the world a safer place for her and their children…

The young billionaire winced, remembering how hard it'd been for them while they'd still been intimate. He—he'd wondered if when he'd lost his hair if he hadn't lost his ability to father children--and that was another fear that kept him from sinking into Chloe when all he wanted was to never leave the bed with her. He knew she was hurt, knew that she didn't understand why he was more distant with her these last couple of months, but he'd make it up to her. He would--once this was all over.

"Mr. Luthor." His secretary spoke through the intercom. "Your 1 o'clock is here. Should I send him in?"

He took in a deep breath, calmed himself, and pressed down on the 'speak' button. "Yes. Send him in."

* * *

Dinah and Chloe sat in the nearest Starbucks, both trembling, drinking _another_ coffee, silent. The eldest Sullivan closed her eyes tightly as she heard the news on the television saying how the amount of casualties in the 'terrorist attack' were rising into the hundreds, as the exploding glass had injured not only the workers in the buildings, but the passerby's in the street below.

"I just singlehandedly orchestrated a _terrorist attack_." She whimpered, closing her eyes even _tighter_, so tight it _hurt_ as she remembered those words related to the plane that'd stolen the life of her parents and thousands of other innocent people. She was no different that those terrorist in 9/11.

"Don't say that." Chloe hissed to her. "You didn't know that was going to happen--you didn't _know_ you had a _meteor ability_."

She winced at the word. _Meteor ability_. At least Chloe could heal. But what about her, why didn't _she_ have something nice like that? She screamed and got people injured! She had, like, a _sonic boom_!

"Don't worry, okay?" Chloe's hand was on hers. "I'm going to talk to Lex--he'll know what to do."

Dinah nodded. Lex would know what to do. He'd help her.

But for right now, she needed to get her mind off of what was going on or she'd go crazy. "So, what did he write about today?"

"_Lex_?" Chloe asked, confused.

"No, _Clark_." She opened her eyes, looking at her cousin's surprised face. "Oh, don't give me that look, I _know_ you subscribed to the Smallville Ledger months ago ever since I showed you that article of his. You've been keeping track of his writing. Don't deny it."

She didn't, she just fingered a dark lock of hair.

"_So_?" Dinah asked, squeezing Chloe's hand. "What did Smallville write about _this_ time?"

"Birds."

"Huh?"

"Apparently birds are migrating in large quantities to Smallville and their excess of, uh, _excrement_ have people complaining all over the place." A small smile touched Chloe's lips, and Dinah watched as her cousin seemed more alive now than she had in a while. "The whole premise of the article is _ridiculous_, and those people who he quoted just sounded absurdly _problematic_—I mean, come on, they're _birds!_ Sure, I understand their disgust of the whole situation, but what can the officials really do? Give the birds _fines or tickets _or something for doodooing on public property? Clark made that little comment, I found it comical." She giggled. "One of the people he interviewed even said that there should be a law about the birds not being able to congregate in groups of more than ten without a written permit signed by the Mayor."

"Unbelievable." Dinah chuckled as well, shaking her head. "Only in Smallville…"

"Yeah." Chloe seemed lost in thought, that small smile still there on her face. "Only in Smallville…"

And suddenly Dinah had the feeling that they weren't talking about the same thing anymore.

"_Dinah! Chloe! Thank GOD!_"

Dinah looked up. "Jimmy!" He'd called her only minutes after they'd gotten to Starbucks, terrified because he couldn't find them, but she hadn't expected him to _come_. "_Baby!_"

He pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head. "_God_ Dinah! I was so _worried_!"

Dinah hung to him, feeling the frantic beating of his heart against her ear, his body _trembled_ as he clung to her. "Oh baby…"

The elder Sullivan relaxed, feeling his arms around her, knowing that she would be fine as long as Jimmy was with her. She knew she needed to tell him about her ability--knew that they'd promised each other complete truth in their relationship, but she was terrified that once he realized that all of this chaos was because of _her_ that he'd leave her--or expose her. But surprisingly enough, she was more terrified of him _leaving_ her.

_God, I love you, you stupid photographer_.

He pulled her closer and kissed the side of her head.

_**My**__ stupid photographer…_

* * *

Watching Pete and Lana commit to each other was a bittersweet moment, because while he was happy for his friends, Clark couldn't help but picture him and Chloe in their place…

_Go slow, boy, you promised to give them a certain time. If they haven't worked through things by then--if--just don't torture yourself until then_.

"So, Clark my man," Pete came up towards him, grinning, as the others all enjoyed the wedding reception. "When are you going to find a nice girl and settle down once and for all? I need someone to bitch to when Lana turns into a horrible control-freak."

"I _heard_ that!" Lana laughed, coming up by them, looking gorgeous in her dress. "Clark, beat the crap out of my husband for me, won't you?"

"Don't get me involved in your married-people arguments." Clark grinned at them.

Pete turned to Lana. "So, _Mrs. Ross_. You ready to hit the dance floor and show the others how people _really_ dance?"

"Gladly!" She grinned, grabbing his arm and pulling him out to the dance floor.

Clark smiled as he watched them, and then he sighed, smile slowly dying on his face.

When _would_ he be settling down?

He titled his head slightly in the direction of Metropolis, hearing the soothing sound of her heat beat.

_Give her time, Clark. You promised yourself you would. You can do this. You __**can**__._

Still, his heart was heavy.

* * *

Jodie, Lex's secretary, must have been out on bathroom break, because when the elevator opened she was nowhere in sight. Chloe stormed out of the elevator and headed towards the doors passed Jodie's desk, the doors to Lex's office--which was the only office on this floor. She felt hurt, knowing that he'd probably heard about what'd happened and yet he hadn't called her to see if she was fine--he hadn't come to look for her…nothing.

It'd hurt too much to see Jimmy doting on Dinah, kissing her, whispering how he loved her and how much he'd worried about her--checking her over to make sure that she truly was okay and didn't need to be taken to the hospital. The photographer was _so_ in love with her cousin that it was _painful_, and she'd excused herself saying that she was going to see Lex. Dinah had given her a hopeful look and Jimmy hadn't understood the silent communication as Dinah assured Chloe that everything would be okay--and that Lex would take care of everything.

But Chloe wasn't so sure. Would Lex care about helping Dinah when he couldn't even bring himself to care about _her_? Couldn't find time in his busy schedule to find out if she was dead of alive?

Did she matter so _little_ to him now?

She hesitated by the door, which was cracked open, trying to decide whether to enter and confront him or--.

"No, do _not_ call me at my apartment anymore." Lex snapped at whoever he was talking to on the phone, sounding tired and in a bad mood. "Chloe is getting suspicious."

Her eyes widened and she ducked behind the door, listening.

"My life with Chloe and what I do over there are to remain completely separated, and my fiancé is already beginning to suspect something. She's smart, I don't need her digging into things deeper and discovering about you and the others."

_Others?_ There were _others_ as _well_?

Chloe felt her heart breaking into a million pieces as she heard Lex talking to his lover.

"No, I don't care, that attack today just makes me realize how important this is." He was listening to whatever tramp was on the other side of the line…the one he found so important. "No, I'm staying there tonight. I can't be with Chloe tonight, I just _can't_."

She pressed a hand to her mouth to silence her desperate sob. Did she disgust him that much? That he had to escape from her? From his very own _penthouse_?

"No. 33.1 has been getting most of the funds from Luthorcorp _exactly_ for this reason, Dr. Kinkaid."

Her green eyes widened as her heart stopped in horror.

No.

_No_.

She _couldn't be hearing_--Lex _wouldn't_--!

"Those new experimental methods of extracting DNA, I want them tested on the _creatures_ immediately, I don't _care_ what happens to them. These creatures aren't _human, _they're _things_ that are dangerous and need to be _understood, controlled, _and if they are not able to be controlled, they need to be _eliminated_."

She felt like she was going to collapse from horror as she listened to the steel, dangerous and cruel voice of a man she didn't know.

Lex--the Lex she knew--he wouldn't do this--not--_she_ was one of those 'things'! She--.

"I want an autopsy report on all of the things that didn't make it through the proceedings—the ones that died on the surgical table. I want to know _where_ their power was massed and _how_ it was released, _what triggered_ their powers, I want to know _everything_."

She began to back up slowly, needing to get out of there before she became sick all over his pristine floor.

"I don't _care_--_separate_ them if you have to! These things aren't _like_ us Dr. they aren't human, they're _threats_! Do what you _have_ to to get experiment #8879008 to show the true capacity of her powers!"

Chloe pressed the buttons on the elevator behind her frantically, and she dove inside when the doors opened. The last words she heard before they closed were the ones that'd forever haunt her nightmares.

"It's not a _child_! It's a _thing_!"

Collapsing to the floor as the elevator began to take her down, Chloe felt herself going into shock. She pulled out her cellular and quickly dialed Dinah's number, getting to her feet shakily when the elevator's doors opened and she shot out, heading towards the exit.

"Chloe?" Dinah picked up. "What's--?"

"Get your car and come to the penthouse, _now_!"

Chloe hailed a cab and promised the driver an extra hundred if he got her to the penthouse in ten minutes--a dangerous feat the driver accomplished.

In the penthouse, Chloe grabbed a suitcase and quickly began to pack the little that she'd brought with her when she'd come to live with Lex. By the time she was finished, Dinah called to say that she was below with Jimmy, and asked if Chloe wanted them to come up. She'd told her no, that she was on her way down, and she'd looked around her quickly, pained, biting down at her bottom lip to keep the sobs at bay as she prepared to leave the only home she'd known since she'd graduated.

Images of her moving in with Lex, of their years of laughter and love, of playing together, watching horrible black and white movies together on the sofa, munching on homemade popcorn--making sweet, slow love on the bed…his whispering he loved her…those images taunted her.

She was about to leave when the sun shone off of the ring on her hand and a tear fell unbidden as she looked down at her engagement ring, remembering Lex's proposal--remembering how she'd never been so happy in her life as she had been at that time…thinking of their future together.

Pulling the ring from her finger felt like tearing a piece of her heart from her body--and in a sense it was, because Lex would _always_ have a piece of her heart.

Putting the ring on the table by the door with a sob, Chloe broke down for a moment, shoulders trembling from the force of her sobs before she sniffled and gained control of herself again, wiping at her eyes and taking in deep, calming breaths.

_Goodbye, Lex…_

And with that she turned around and ran away.

* * *

Dinah sat frozen in her apartment as her crying cousin let the whole story escape her lips. She couldn't believe--couldn't--but the heartbreak her cousin was experiencing spoke for itself. She was glad that she'd sent Jimmy away, he didn't need to hear this--didn't--not before she told him about her abilities--what if he felt like Lex did? What if—what if--?

_Oh Lex! How __**could**__ you?_

Dinah cried along with her cousin, each holding each other tightly, finding comfort in the other in a situation that had no solution.

* * *

Late into the night, Lex entered the penthouse, frowning when he saw that the whole apartment was covered in darkness. Chloe hated the darkness, so why wasn't there one light on? She always called to tell him when she would be out, and she hadn't done that--which meant that she should be here--and the penthouse should have every single light _on_.

His heart started to race in worry. What if one of those creatures had gotten to her? What if it'd taken her?

He should have called! He should have--.

Lex pulled out his cellular and dialed Chloe's number, cursing when it rang out. He rang her another time, and another, and _another_, and yet she wasn't answering. He then called Dinah's number, and his call was sent immediately to voicemail.

What was going on?

What had happ--?

He flipped on the light switch and froze when he saw _what_ the light had reflected off of.

Chloe's engagement ring…

Placed tidily on the table by the door.

His heart suddenly skipped a beat as suddenly he understood what had happened.

_No…_

* * *

"_CHLOE!_"

Chloe closed her eyes and cried desperately into Dinah's arms as they sat on the rooftop of Dinah's apartment building. Lex had arrived at Dinah's apartment, demanding to be let in, to be able to speak to Chloe, but neither woman had allowed him entrance. He'd tried to force his way inside by trying to break down the door, calling out her name the whole while, until the security had had to throw him out of the apartment building.

Heartbroken, _desperate_, Chloe had raced up to the rooftop, needing the air, needing the _wind_, and Dinah had followed, holding her close as they both cried.

And Lex had continued to scream her name from down below, where he stood outside, voice sounding broken.

"_CHLOE PLEASE!"_ He called, voice breaking with emotion. "_WHATEVER I DID--I'M SORRY!"_

"The bastard doesn't even know what he did." Dinah sobbed. "He doesn't realize you _know_!"

Chloe just held on tighter to her cousin, sobbing desperately, feeling for a moment as if someone had hugged her from behind and she'd felt the warm comfort of someone _familiar_, but in a second it was only the wind, and Lex's voice continued to cry out for her from below.

* * *

Sniffs…..dammit! That made me so sad to write! …..wipes eyes…. Review anyone? There IS only ONE MORE chapter left…


	16. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman, or any characters that appear or are mentioned in those series/movies.**

_Okay, was forced to go to the doctor yesterday (hate hospitals!) and found out that I have a 'serious kidney infection' and they also want me to have a cat-scan (brain scan) on Monday… 0.0 I don't wanna do it!_

_Amazing…this is it! This is the __**last chapter**__ of Winds of Change…to think this started out as a oneshot…then as a story that was only supposed to be around four chapters long, and now, here it is ending at chapter __**sixteen**__, yeah, a little more than four! __**Grins**_

_So, I want to thank everyone who has stayed faithful with me, encouraging me and just letting me know that you were reading and that you enjoyed it--you have no idea how that helped me keep inspired and not let this story fall into HIATUS like a couple of my other stories. As you read this final chapter (and EPILOGUE), know that you kept me concentrated and that we got this far thanks to you all!_

_So, yeah, once again: THANKS!_

_Shadowglove_

_**P.S. THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO SABRINA…**__she knows why._

* * *

Three years.

_It'd been three years since Clark Kent had just mysteriously disappeared from the face of the earth._

_At first Lex Luthor had thought it was some cleverly orchestrated plan to get him off his trail, he'd been __**this close**__ to discovering the whole truth about Clark Kent and his little __**abilities**__ and then the farm boy had just __**disappeared**__. Lex had known that if there was anyone smart enough to pull something like this off, it was Chloe Sullivan, Clark's little sidekick, and so he'd kept an eye on her, had her followed, even bought the Daily Planet to track her every movement, to catch her when she made the mistake._

_But she never did…_

_And he began to wonder if she truly __**did**__ know where Clark had disappeared to._

_He'd then started watching her because he was sure that when Clark returned he'd return to Chloe first thing. Most of his life Clark had been blind to the beautiful blonde friend of his, but Lex had noticed a difference during the months leading up to Clark's disappearance--noticed how Clark had finished things permanently with the annoying Lana Lang, noticed how he'd never left Chloe's side and was always there for her._

_He'd noticed what Chloe hadn't._

_He'd seen Clark Kent in love._

_So, yes, it made all the sense in the world to keep an eye on her both at work and at her home. And, he admitted, she intrigued him. As was her decline in zeroing him out and lashing out at him with that sharp little pink tongue of hers. He'd noticed her slowly pulling away from their confrontations, noticed her stop fighting him on the pieces he made her write--but it'd been more obvious after her annoying cousin, Lois Lane, had gotten herself killed while going after a story he'd told her to leave alone._

_Chloe had completely broken down, and all the fight had gone out of her. She didn't fight him when he insinuated sexual things about them to her coworkers, she didn't fight him when he kept her back for whatever pretext in the evenings to go over the pieces he wanted her to, she didn't even fight when he'd moved her desk until it was right by his office so he could have her always in his line of vision or when he started making her go with him to every function he had to attend._

_He'd won…_

_And yet the victory wasn't half as sweet as he'd once thought it would be. He'd dreamed of shutting up the blonde, of making her submit, of making her understand who was the superior—the winner. He'd dreamt of this moment since their friendship had dissolved so bitterly, and yet now that he had her as he'd always wanted her, he'd discovered that he truly didn't want her like that._

_He'd __**missed**__ that spark in her eyes, __**missed**__ the way she'd glare at him and say something amazingly witty and biting whenever they battled verbally…and it'd pissed him, and confused him._

_So he'd changed his tactics and just started __**observing**__ her. She hated what he made her write, everyone in the Daily Planet were disgusted with her because of the rumors of her having gained her position by being his whore, and yet she worked silently, efficiently, giving her all, her pieces literary works of __**art**__. Everything she did was perfection, and before Lex could realize what was happening, he'd begun obsessing again, and yet this time it was with the young woman who he watched in his office, through the distorted glass, as she typed and worked on leads and became as desirous to the young billionaire as she was unobtainable to him._

_He'd always known of her friendship with Oliver Queen, they'd met through Martha Kent, and yet he hadn't realized that they were as close friends as they were. Lex had gone to the Daily Planet as usual (honestly, he was spending more time there than at Luthorcorp), coming up with reasons to have Chloe have lunch with him at some fancy restaurant so he could dazzle her--they could go over some piece he wanted her to write, it wouldn't look weird, the whole office thought he was banging her anyway._

_He groaned, thinking about her beneath him, whimpering, whispering his name as he slid in and out of her warmth…_

_And then he'd come upon her desk and found her gone._

_It was odd, Chloe never ate lunch out of the office, Lex would spend his lunch in his office just to be able to watch her as she nibbled on a sandwich and continue to type in her computer. So when he'd asked some nameless floozy who'd tried to get into his pants more than once--Cat something--where Chloe was, and she'd told him that Oliver Queen had appeared in the office, with a rose in his hand, and had whisked the blonde away, Lex hadn't been able to tap down the __**fury**__ that'd welled up in him._

_He remembered going to his office and slamming the door, surprised to realize that what he was feeling was jealousy. It was that moment that he'd finally admitted to himself that he wanted the blonde reporter, wanted her badly, wanted her only for himself. The young man had tried to keep a reign on his temper, to be stoic as ever, but the moment she returned with that goofy smile on her face--that smile that had __**never**__ shone on her face after leaving a meeting with __**him**__, he'd ordered her in his office and lost his temper, interrogating her on what she'd been doing with Oliver Queen--as if he had any right to demand anything from her._

_She'd looked surprised and a little afraid--but he'd only seen her with Oliver once afterwards and she'd returned to the office with her eyes red. His blonde rival tried getting into contact with her several times, but Lex's men informed him that Chloe brushed him off every time._

_It'd helped calm his jealous insecurities, but when he'd come in again around lunchtime and she wasn't at her desk, he'd felt that dark feeling welling up inside of him again as he asked around but no one knew where she'd gone._

_He'd banged the door of his office closed and gone to call her on her cellular--the only number he knew by heart._

_It rang once._

_Twice._

_Three times…_

_And then she answered, her tone wary. "What do you want, Luthor?"_

_"Where are you?" He knew his voice was clipped, terse, but he didn't care because he was keeping back the desire to shout at her and demand to know if she was with Queen._

_"Out." Her answer was irritatingly vague. "What do you want?"_

_"For my star reporter to be at her desk, close to my office, as she should be." He growled. He didn't like it when he couldn't see her. She'd become his obsession, his necessity, his drug of choice, and he feared what he was going through right now was similar to what addicts would call 'withdrawal'._

_"I'm on my lunch break, Luthor, even your _star reporter_ needs to refuel once in a while." She sighed and she sounded so small, so vulnerable. "I can't live off of coffee _forever_."_

_"I know, Chloe." He liked the sound of her name on his tongue. It sounded so soft, so feminine, and yet quirky, just like the girl who wore the name proudly. "I've been trying to get you to have a good lunch for _months_ now." Maybe this was a good way to begin working in the new routine of them not only spending the evenings at the DP together, but having regular lunches as well. "I just thought it odd that you weren't by your desk."_

_"Why don't you tell me why you're _really_ doing this, Luthor?" She didn't snap, didn't sound annoyed, she just sounded so __**tired**__. "Is it another fluffy LuthorCorp-Saves-The-World piece? I'll write it up as soon as I get back."_

_"No, I don't have anything specific for you to write." He paused, suddenly realizing something. "There's an echo…where exactly _are_ you?"_

_"I told you, __**out**__."_

_"You sound tired." That observation escaped his mouth before he could bite it back. She wasn't going to believe that he was worried about her, not yet, not before he'd managed to manipulate her into having only him to rely on and she gave in._

_"Look, I haven't been sleeping well. Nothing big." And suddenly she was defensive again for the first time in a whole year. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm still on my lunch break--."_

_He narrowed his eyes. "Are you hiding something from me?"_

_"That's __**IT!**__" She snapped, the same anger and passion he'd been missing coloring her voice. "Luthor, I'm having lunch! Give me a break! You have people trailing me day and night, I try to give them the slip now and then, but I know that most of the time I fail. You know that I don't know where Clark is, you know that I am no doing anything against you, and you know that I spend all of my nights at home in front of the television with a carton of Ben & Jerry's!"_

_He was silent, savoring the familiar passion, glad that she hadn't lost it, imagining the blonde applying that same passion in the bed, in __**his**__ bed, somewhere he wouldn't let her leave once she gave in. And she __**would**__._

_"You have nothing to fear from me anymore." She whispered, broken. "You've won. Now let me have my lunch in peace."_

_He paused, savoring her defeat, knowing that soon he'd have her completely. "Then, if I've won, you'll be dying your hair brown. No one will ever truly take you seriously if you're a blonde." He'd already made this suggestion, but she'd given him the evil eye when he had._

_There was a sigh. "Luthor, apparently you haven't realized that I'm really a brunette, and if it keeps you quiet, I'll stop dying my hair."_

_"Good." He paused, closing his eyes, imagining Chloe with long brown hair and wincing slightly as he began to grow hard immediately. "I'll have my secretary set up an appointment at the best beauty salon for you for this evening to get them to dye your hair back as close to your natural color as possible, that way I don't have my star reporter looking like some washed out, unkempt girl who can't even dye her roots."_

_"Whatever you say." She gave into him, again. "So unless you want to use up more of my short lunch break, goodbye." And she hung up on him._

_But Lex didn't care._

_Victory was nearly won._

_He'd have Chloe Sullivan in his bed and in his life, it was only a matter of time._

* * *

Lex shook off the lingering memories of the dream he'd had the night before and sat down having lunch, looking down at the newspaper in front of him, at the first page.

_METROPOLIS POLICE CHIEF INVOLVED IN ILLICIT "KIDDY" PORN PRODUCTION AND TRAFFICATION by LOIS LANE_

A year had passed since Chloe had left him, and it would seem that the only way he could get close to her was through her writing--something she'd thrown herself into completely since she'd ended their engagement.

Lex closed his blue eyes and sighed, remembering the evening seven months ago when he'd cornered her on her way to her new apartment, and forced her to tell him what he'd done wrong, pleaded for her to give him another chance.

And she'd glared at him and let it all loose. She told him how she'd been breaking little by little by his side, how she'd thought he'd been having an affaire and then she'd discovered his little _experiments_.

His heart had stopped in horror as suddenly everything made sense.

He'd tried to get her to understand, but she'd looked at him as if he was worse than the cruelest monster, and told him to be prepared because she was coming after him.

A month later she published an article with enough evidence to prove that he was experimenting on human subjects…and Lex couldn't help but feel proud of her for having gathered so much evidence when he'd made sure to keep all the evidence under lock and key.

Of course, the case had gone to court, but Lex hadn't been sentenced. He'd managed to perfect the serum his father had been working on, and while only a few of the mutants had been injected with it, they were manipulated easily and testified in court how they'd _asked_ to be experimented on so that they could find a way to become normal again.

Lex had been slapped on the wrist, told to keep the government informed of his experiments, and that'd been all.

He'd tried getting in contact with Chloe after the trial, but she'd evaded him.

He sighed, finger trailing over her black and white image as she interrogated the police chief as he was being hauled away by his own men.

Chloe hadn't understood what he was doing, but he didn't blame her. He'd gone around things the wrong way. He should have gotten her to see how dangerous the creatures were, should have made her hate them a much as he did...

But what was done was done.

"_Chloe_…"

It'd take time, but he'd have her back. Chloe Sullivan was _his_, always had been and always wouldn't be.

She'd be his again…it was only a matter of time.

* * *

Rubbing Shelby's head, Martha sighed as she looked up at the sky. "Do you think that he's going to be okay?"

Jonathan came up to his wife and placed his arms around her shoulders. "Of course he's going to be fine. This is his destiny, Martha. He was born for this, and we cannot stand in his way. We've done our job, we've raised a good man, now we have to just let go."

Martha sighed. "As a person I completely understand you, and I agree with everything you have just said. But as a mother I just want to hold onto him and never let go." The lovely redhead turned and looked up into the eyes of her husband. "He could get hurt--he _does_ have a weakness! What if his enemies discover it?"

"We all have weaknesses, Martha." Jonathan whispered. "And we are only truly strong when we learn to live with them."

She paused before smiling tenderly at him. "How did such a self-proclaimed 'ignorant hick' become so smart?"

He grinned. "Fatherhood."

* * *

"Thank you and come again!" Dinah smiled at the last customer and turned to Chloe. "So, where was I?"

Chloe smiled as she looked at her cousin, standing behind a countertop filled with flowers, wearing an apron, her face wiped clean of makeup, wearing jeans and a t-shirt, hair pulled behind her in a simple ponytail. And she was wearing _slippers_. And yet the woman looked happier than she had since…well…_forever_.

"On how Jimmy's a horndog." Chloe couldn't help but grin as she said that, unable to believe that her geeky co-working was _so_ good that Dinah swore that fainting during an orgasm was a weekly occurrence.

_It's always the quiet ones_.

"I tell you!" Dinah grinned brightly, arranging some of the flowers closest to her. "Ever since we've moved in together above the shop, well, the guy's _insatiable_!" And considering that her grin could light up the whole of Metropolis—well—she wasn't exactly _complaining_. "Last night I actually had to tell him to go and rent a porno because I just couldn't _keep up_!"

Chloe couldn't help but admire her cousin. After she'd realized that she couldn't continue working at the Daily Planet (there was too much stress and she kept wanting to _scream_ at the women who realized that if _DINAH_ was with Jimmy so long he _had_ to be a catch and flirted with the _still_ oblivious photographer) she'd quit her job and opened up a flower boutique, saying that flowers were what had brought her and Jimmy together. She'd called it _Flowers and Chocolate_…and also sold chocolates and cards of every kind.

_Flowers and Chocolate_ was doing extremely well, and Dinah was amazingly enough in her element.

Her watch beeped, and Chloe looked down, frowning. "Darn. I have to go back to the DP."

Dinah grinned. "You could always quit and be my assistant."

"If I do that, Cat Grant will probably be doing the investigative work," Chloe laughed at the look Dinah gave her at that.

"You stay right there at the DP, missy, that hussy needs to be fired! Not promoted! And if you can get her fired, do so!"

"You're just jealous because she tried to jump Jimmy in the photocopying room."

"Damned right." Dinah growled.

Laughing, Chloe shook her head. "Gotta go, Cuz." Walking out of _Flowers and Chocolates_, Chloe winced when she realized that she was going to be late. The blonde cut the corner and decided to go through the back alleys since they were a shortcut, but the second she was surrounded by a group of men she remembered all too late about the rapes that'd been happening in this part of the town.

"Well, what do you know fellas? It's _Lois Lane_." One of the larger guys sneered.

"Always wanted to get my hands on some of _that_." Another advanced.

Chloe tensed, knowing that she couldn't fight them all off but that even if she screamed no one would be able to hear her in the hustle and bustle of the city life.

She closed her eyes as one of them rushed at her, and then suddenly the men cried out in pain and something had grabbed her, going up, _up_.

The brunette opened her eyes and gasped, holding onto her savior as she realized that she was _flying_, the ground disappearing beneath them as she caught a glance at her assailants, who'd all been thrown to the ground, unconscious.

Her shocked gaze went to her savior's face only after realizing that he was wearing some extremely well fitting spandex suit, and her eyes widened when she saw his face.

_CLARK?!_

He grinned down at her, holding her bridal style, and suddenly they'd descended on the top of the Daily Planet's building. "You know, Ms. Lane, for a investigative journalist, you sure don't listen to the news. There's been attacks--."

"I know." She whispered, looking at his face hungrily, unable to believe that Clark Kent was there in front of her--had _saved_ her--and had such an incredible _body_. _GOD_. He looked _great_ in a suit that'd make anyone else seem _ridiculous_. And his voice was lower, so, so..._wow. _"Thank you."

He smiled and shook his head before tilting his head to the side, smile replaced by a frown. "I have to go." And with that he took to the sky.

"But--!" He was gone in the blink of an eye before she could even finish her sentence.

She sighed. _How do I get in contact with you?_

Shaking her head, Chloe went down into the Daily Planet and went immediately to her desk. She didn't know how long she'd sat like that, looking at her nameplate and yet seeing Clark.

He could _fly_.

Was he a meteor freak too?

Had he gotten powers during the last meteor shower?

_And he's helping people_…

She was worried. She needed to find him, to tell him that if he was going to continue to help others that he at least needed a _mask_! If Lex--.

Chloe closed her eyes, heart hurting her at the thought of Lex Luthor. She'd managed to somehow live her life away from him--or as far away as he'd let her, which really wasn't _that_ far--but it still hurt like _hell_ to see him, especially when they were attending the same galas and she'd see a new brunette on his arm. The strange thing, something Dinah had pointed out to her after looking over a collection of pictures of Lex and his numerous dates--was that all of them looked like _Chloe_ somehow.

And for some morbid reason Chloe felt better, although deep in her heart she wanted Lex to go on with his life, and _needed_ to get on with her _own_ life as well.

Still, she'd loved Lex from the time she was seven years old--and that sort of love didn't vanish in only a year.

"Excuse me, Lois?"

She recognized that voice, and looked up in surprise to see Clark Kent standing nervously by her desk. He was drastically changed from the getup he'd been wearing the last time she'd seen him. Instead of the spandex, he wore a boring business suit, with glasses, and ruffled hair. He also seemed to hunch in on himself, as if trying to hide the fact that he was so tall.

She frowned. Since when had Clark needed glasses?

"Um, I don't know if you remember me." Clark's voice was timid, completely different from the one he'd used earlier on in the day. "My name is Clark Kent, we met each other in Smallville a while back."

Why was he acting as if they hadn't just seen each other just this morning?

And suddenly she understood. He thought that with his getup--with _both of them_--that she wouldn't _recognize him_ He was doubting her intelligence! Her discernment! Everything that made her who she _was_!

Narrowing her eyes at him, Chloe raised an eyebrow. _Oh, so you want to play? I'll play_. "Kent?" She pretended to think it over, as if she _didn't_ have dreams about him and a blonde version of herself every night. "And you say that I met you in Smallville?"

The small smile had fallen off of his face and he looked a little hurt. "Yeah. We met in Smallville."

Too bad she was spiteful and the look did _nothing_ for her. "Wait, yes, I remember you." Though she _did_ feel a bit bad when his smile returned full-force at that. "_You_ were the guy who was engaged to _Lana_!" She gave him a large smile, seeing _his_ disappear immediately. "How is she? Did you two get married? Any children?" She pretended to be a little confused. "Have you gotten paler? I remember you a _little_ darker."

God, she was going to hell for playing with him like this…

_But HE started it!_

Yeah, so they'd probably end in Purgatory together.

"No--no--." Clark quickly shook his head, looking a little frantic that she couldn't remember him. "That was my friend _Pete_. I'm _Clark Kent_, you, Lex and Dinah were at my house when the meteor shower hit."

"Right!" She pretended to suddenly _remember_. "_You're_ the guy that Dinah always used to call _Smallville_! You know, I always thought you two would make the _cutest_ couple--but you're outta luck, Di's with Jimmy Olsen now, our photographer."

He looked miserable, but she doubted it had anything to do with Dinah's news.

"So, _Kerby_, how can I help you today?" Chloe asked, leaning back on her seat.

"Uh, it's _Kent_ actually, and, uh, I was just hired and Perry said that I'm to be your partner."

She shot up. "My partner? He put you on the _beat_? _With me_?"

"Y-yes?"

She took in a deep breath. "What's your experience in writing, kid?"

He looked affronted that she'd called him that, but answered anyway. "I worked at the Smallville Ledger, and I'm studying."

"Yeah." She shook her head. "Okay, Kenneth. I don't judge Perry because everyone thought he was insane by making _me_ a full-time reporter, but I'm telling you this. Our bylines, they're going by the name _Lois Lane and Clark Kent,_ I'm the senior and you're the newbie. Got that?"

"Yes ma'am." He nodded quickly, looking somewhat intimidated by her and her orders.

She suppressed a grin. It wouldn't do for him to see how intrigued she was with this arrangement. "So, I guess you'll be getting the vacant desk by mine. It used to be Dinah's. I'm still on lunch break, but afterwards we're going to some meetings I have, okay newbie?"

"Yes ma'am."

She turned her back on him so he wouldn't see the grin of amusement on her face. He kept calling her 'ma'am' like some repentant school boy being scolded by the teacher. "Now excuse me, Kennedy, I gotta do something."

Time to test out a theory.

Taking the elevator back up to the rooftop of the Daily Planet, Chloe closed her eyes as she stepped onto the ledge. _Instincts, you better not let me down today._ She stepped off of the ledge and screamed as she began to freefall down the air, and then, in seconds, she'd been caught by a whirl of blue and red.

Holding onto Clark's neck, burying her face in his chest, thanking all _holy_ that her instincts had proven her right, Chloe sighed, adding _super-speed_ to _ability to fly_.

"What the world were you _thinking_, Ms. Lane?" Again his voice was deeper, and she wondered if he did that to try help camouflage himself.

She looked up into Clark's face and smiled. "Testing a theory."

He looked down at her in confusion and worry. "You were trying to kill yourself to test a theory?"

"That--and because we didn't get to talk last time." She continued to smile into his face, realizing that their mouths were so _close_… "How else was I supposed to get into contact with Metropolis' own super man and secure an interview with him before someone else did?"

"Super man?" He blinked, looking down at her in shock, cheeks tinting red as they continued to float in the air.

"Well, I can' t call you superboy, can I?" She whispered, a little embarrassed because it'd come out as a purr.

He tore his eyes from hers and looked away, clearing his throat. "That was a foolish thing to do just for an interview." Neither of them noticed the people who were watching them from below, who'd been watching since Chloe had taken the plunge…or of the pictures being taken of them.

"But it worked, didn't it?"

He looked back at her, eyes softening slightly. "I'll follow your heartbeat to your home tonight, and I'll give you your interview."

_Follow my heartbeat_? She wondered if he could hear it as it fluttered at those words. _God! If there ever was a heat-melting line it's that one_! Chloe grinned at him. "Eight? My balcony?"

He nodded.

"Great, it's a date." She whispered as he lowered her to the rooftop and flew away. Chloe looked at the sky, smiling like she hadn't in a long time, sure that when she got below Clark would be in his boring little suit once again, hiding behind a false hunch and godawful glasses, but she knew the truth.

She also wondered how long they were going to play this little game.

_My life just got a bit more exciting_.

Closing her eyes, Chloe sighed with a smile, enjoying the feel of the breeze against her skin. The wind seemed to be softer, cooler, bringing change with each caress, promising something with each whisper.

Green eyes opened.

She could hardly wait.

* * *

Hey people. This is it. THE END! Review for old times sake?


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